SpaceX Stacks Starship Rocket As Part Of Test Flight Preparations

wccftech.com:

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

After it kicked off September with a flurry of launches and an astronaut landing, SpaceX is busy moving towards its next Starship test flight. The firm has successfully stacked the second stage of the Starship rocket on top of its first stage, and all eyes are on Boca Chica, Texas as the firm races to the next Starship test. SpaceX has already conducted crucial static fire tests of the Starship Super Heavy booster, leaving a handful of tests before the rocket can light up dozens of its engines and attempt to reach orbit.

Developing the Super Heavy booster is a major part of the Starship test campaign, and so far, SpaceX has been busy ironing out the kinks in the rocket. One of the toughest problems in Starship development is lighting up the 33 rocket engines at the same time, and SpaceX's latest static fire test saw 31 engines sustain ignition. The first test flight in April was also noticeable when some of its engines malfunctioned during flight. However, despite this, the rocket was able to successfully fly to the point of stage separation before its self destruct systems were activated.

The second Starship test flight will be crucial as it will be te first time when SpaceX will test a hot stage separation mechanism. This involves lighting up the second stage's engines while it still connected to the first stage booster and for this portion of the flight, SpaceX has installed a venting ring on top of the Super Heavy booster. Starship's second stage which was stacked on Super Heavy booster 9 earlier today was placed on top of this ring. This allowed SpaceX to verify the newest