Earlier this month, SpaceX carried out the “Starship” static ignition, for the second orbital test flight preparation, this activity was broadcast live and when the test was over, SpaceX’s mission control team confirmed that the rocket on the four Raptor 2-type engine shut down prematurely, which indicates that the rocket is about to conduct the second orbital test flight still has some technical problems. The rocket, which is about to undergo its second orbital test flight, still has some technical problems.
SpaceX has now reportedly returned the rocket body and boosters to the launch site for the next batch of pre-flight tests.
SpaceX tweeted on the X platform that the Super Heavy booster had been brought to the launch pad for pre-flight testing, and that the company would likely conduct additional hot static ignition tests to evaluate the performance of the rocket’s engines prior to the flight attempt.
NASA’s Artemis program (Artemis) was launched last year, in the plan, NASA and SpaceX signed a contract to land a group of astronauts on the moon, they plan to let the first batch of astronauts land in the 3rd mission, and SpaceX’s second-class interplanetary spacecraft is the first choice of the lander for this mission. According to the lunar landing mission, the astronauts will leave Earth in NASA’s Orion capsule and enter the interstellar spacecraft by docking with NASA’s Gateway space station or directly with SpaceX’s spacecraft.
Mr Jim Free, Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development at NASA’s Space Agency, emphasized at the conference that SpaceX would have to launch Starship multiple times for the rocket to be ready for a manned mission.
Jim Free emphasized that NASA has already visited SpaceX’s Starship facility in Texas, and his comments also implied that NASA and SpaceX may change the planned schedule of December 2025 for the Artemis 3 mission, so that the associated mission execution may be delayed.
