SN10 and its predecessor SN9 at the starting point in Boca Chica, Texas, in early February.
SpaceX
Just a few weeks after his predecessor SN9 flew high and then crashed On the Gulf Coast of Texas, SN10 could try to improve performance, and that could happen Tuesday.
SN10 and SN9 are the latest versions of SpaceX and Elon Musk’s Starship prototypes that the company has fully seen from its facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Musk promised the next generation rocket can revolutionary point-to-point travel around the world, as well as to the moon, Mars and beyond.
Over the past few years, Starship prototypes have progressed from making short, low altitude “hops” to high-altitude flight demonstrations. The last two serial numbers, SN8 and SN9, both flew to altitudes comparable to where commercial aircraft fly, but then came in for explosive hard landings.
Musk warned in advance of the tests that he would expect such ‘rapid, unplanned disassembly’ events to be part of the development process.
SpaceX SN8 flew high and landed hard.
SpaceX CNET video recording by Jackson Ryan
Following the flight and crash of SN8 in December, the follow-up flight of SN9 suffered a series of delays during January. It was revealed that SN8 was launched without the necessary approval of the Federal Aviation Administration, and that a kind of star contest was developed, as the FAA then took the time to award the launch license for SN9.
Finally, the FAA was satisfied with the safety measures for the test flight and SN9 finally flew on 2 February. After the fiery return to Earth this afternoon, the FAA announces that it will investigate the landing ‘accident’.
The FAA spokesman said in an email on Friday that the agency had closed the investigation into the landing accident, and “opened the way for the SN10 test flight pending the FAA’s approval of license updates.”
“The SN9 vehicle failed within the limits of the FAA safety analysis. The successful landing and explosion did not endanger the public or property. All rubbish was contained within the designated danger area. The FAA approved the final accident report, including the probable causes and remedies. “
As of Monday morning, the Washington Dav’s Christian Davenport Report that the FAA license has been granted, paving the way for SN10 to launch as early as Tuesday, following a static test fire as early as Monday. Temporary flight restrictions were issued for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the test flight.
So SpaceX is pushing forward with SN10. Check here for updates and a live stream once SN10 is ready to fly.
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