Boca Chica, Texas – SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is gearing up for Starship’s fourth integrated flight test, IFT-4, which may be just days away. However, a recent setback has caused a stir as footage captured a massive explosion during a Raptor engine test at the company’s Boca Chica Starbase facilities in southern Texas.
The video shows SpaceX’s engine test pad engulfed in flames after an incident that occurred shortly after 4:12 pm local time. The Raptor engine shut off just 14 seconds after ignition, leading to a fire starting underneath the engine and eventually causing a second explosion that consumed the entire test tower.
Following the explosion, NASASpaceflight reported the incident on Twitter, stating that the testing stand at McGregor experienced an anomaly that resulted in a secondary explosion on the test stand. Despite this setback, SpaceX is known to put Raptor engines through rigorous qualification tests before integrating them into Starship, ensuring that there are plenty of engines to spare.
SpaceX’s Starship, equipped with 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy first stage, is hailed as the world’s most powerful rocket. The Raptor engines currently undergoing testing are the Raptor 2 engines, which boast of higher thrust and improved design compared to the previous model.
Elon Musk revealed that the Raptor 2 engines will offer 230 tons or approximately 500,000 pounds of thrust at sea level in 2022. The new version is not only more cost-effective to manufacture but also touted as more reliable and powerful. SpaceX’s recent test flight, IFT-3, saw Starship achieving orbital velocity before descending into the Indian Ocean. The upcoming flight aims to include a reentry burn to enable a soft landing in the ocean.
Looking ahead, SpaceX is eyeing as many as nine flights this year as part of its agreement with the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). By increasing its flight frequency, SpaceX hopes to expedite Starship development and fulfill its contract with NASA for a lunar lander modification, paving the way for manned missions back to the Moon.