A far cry from the 150-meter hops of SN5 and SN6, observers were somewhat spoilt by the achievements of Starship SN8, which completed numerous firsts during its 12.5 km high launch. SN9 mirrored most of the tasks before suffering an engine issue during the pre-landing flip.
Those tasks will continue to be refined as SN10 rose into the South Texas skyline, initially under the power of her three Raptor engines. During ascent, one engine shut down, followed by a second, before the final remaining engine reoriented the ship for its belly-flop descent before it too shut down.
For SN8 and SN9, both vehicles showed good aerosurface controllability during the belly-flop back to the landing site. This was a major objective for Starship. This was once again the case for SN10.
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SpaceX will also attempt a series of static fire tests.
Static fire tests are a form of wet rehearsal during which Starship s three Raptor engines are fire while the rocket is still tethered to the ground.
Starship is the upper stage of SpaceX s multi-planetary launch vehicle, known collectively as Starship.
The spacecraft will launch from Earth on top of the Super Heavy booster rocket on missions to the Moon, Mars and possibly beyond.
According to SpaceX, Starship will be the world s most powerful rocket, rivalling NASA s Space Launch System (SLS) and the historic Saturn V.
SpaceX said: Starship has the capability to transport satellites, payloads, crew, and cargo to a variety of orbits and Earth, Lunar, or Martian landing sites.
Starship SN10 launch date: Prelaunch testing expected soon after fiery crash of SN9 Sebastian Kettley
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Starship SN10 rolled out onto the launch pad last week, just days before the delayed test flight of Starship Serial Number 9 (SN9). SN10 is the latest iteration of the next-gen spacecraft that will, hopefully, one day land humans on Mars. Starship SN9 launched on a 6.2-mile (10km) hop this Tuesday - SpaceX s second high-altitude test flight - but failed to stick the landing.
SpaceX perform 150m hop with Starship SN5
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As the rocket came crashing into the ground, it erupted into a spectacular ball of flames just like the SN8 model before it.