In a little over a month after its upper-stage Starship prototype exploded on the test stand, SpaceX has tested another prototype as part of its Starship Flight 10 test campaign. Flight 10 will fly more than two months after Flight 9, despite SpaceX quickly running tests on the booster designated for the mission soon after the previous launch. According to Elon Musk, Starship Flight 10 will fly in mid-August, and it is likely that the mission will see SpaceX repeat the ship's test objectives that it failed to achieve on Flight 9.
SpaceX Successfully Tests Starship Upper Stage For In-Space Engine Reignition During Upcoming Flight 10
Starship Flight 9 had marked major progress over Flight 8 as SpaceX managed to successfully fire the second stage's engines to send it into its designated flight trajectory. However, not only did the firm skip an in-space Raptor engine ignition with the test, but it also lost control of the ship during reentry, which prevented it from testing the rocket's heatshield and the catch hardware for future tower catch recoveries.
While SpaceX has conducted an in-space ignition once, the test, along with the heatshield and catch hardware, is a crucial part of its test campaign. An in-space ignition is necessary for Starship's orbital classification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it demonstrates that SpaceX will be able to control the rocket and prevent an uncontrolled or unpredictable entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
After Flight 9, SpaceX rapidly tested the booster and the ship for Flight 10. However, in June, the firm ran into a major setback as during propellant loading for a static fire test, the upper-stage ship exploded on its test site. SpaceX had built the site specially to conduct ground tests and installed a water cooling system to deflect the rockets' thrust during their test runs.
As a result of the explosion, the firm could not test the upper stage spacecraft until yesterday, when it was able to mount the rocket on top of a makeshift stand. The first test after the new stand was built was yesterday's single-engine test fire. Given that Musk believes Starship Flight 10 can launch in two weeks, it is likely that SpaceX will conduct a full six-engine static fire of the upper-stage rocket soon.
The rocket being tested is the penultimate second-generation upper stage ship. The second-generation ships have proven troublesome as SpaceX is yet to successfully splash them down after a test flight. In a presentation given earlier this year, Musk outlined that he believes the third generation of Starships will prove to be the most reliable rockets in the series.
With Flight 10 on the horizon, SpaceX has to demonstrate in-space propellant refueling for NASA's Artemis program and catch the upper stage ship with the test stand to make significant progress with the Starship program before 2025 ends.
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