After everyone got to know about the successful launch, dock and then return flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX hasn’t said much for the rest of March. Not publicly, that’s for sure. Behind the scenes, there’s the first launch-capable prototype of the SpaceX Starship, that was nicknamed Starhopper. It suggests that we will soon get something more significant.
SpaceX Starship gets closer to its first launch
According to some reports, SpaceX has been seen doing some work on some new systems that allow Starhopper to take to the skies. The spacecraft is a small-scale one, and it’s a version of the bigger Starship that SpaceX once said will carry astronauts to other planets. There’s no official launch date, but everyone is expecting to see it soon.
The launch of SpaceX Starship “Hopper” will come in handy for the SpaceX iron when it comes to any issues that might be there with the design of the spacecraft and the launch system hardware. Truth be told, its hop tests will not send the vehicle into space, but it will be a big step to take for the scale test launch for the Starship hardware.
What’s going on behind the curtains?
Locals have checked the SpaceX launch facility, where the team from SpaceX works on Starhopper. They’ve seen some activities lately, including a so-called pre-burner test.
Starhopper’s way to the very first test flight has not been an easy one. The vehicle had to deal with some critical damage back in January when the strong winds had caused the spacecraft to get rid of its block and simply fall onto its side. That was the moment when SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk decided to take a few weeks to repair the damage.
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