SpaceX has installed at least two of the three new updated Raptors on Starship No. 15 (SN15) ahead of a three-engine static fire scheduled for Wednesday, April 21st.
Originally scheduled for late last week, several unknown delays slowed the installation of the SN15’s three engines and forced SpaceX to return at least one to its yard for further work. Recently, this weekend, SpaceX seemed to have plans to launch Starship SN15 on Monday and launch the rocket the very next day – April 20 (4/20). These plans obviously did not work.
In the SpaceX defense, the stopping progress of the SN15 to flight was equal to the course of its predecessors SN8 to SN11, all of which experienced several delays and lasted an average of 30-40 days of testing, repair and replacement of the engine at the platform. launch before take-off. Equipped with “hundreds of improvements”, including a new Raptor engine design, it was hoped that these upgrades and improvements would allow Starship SN15 to accelerate through pre-launch tests, but the vehicle is in about the same boat as all other prototypes. high altitude.
Starship SN11 made its first static fire attempt just one week after rolling on the buffer, while both SN9 and SN9 performed their first three-engine static fires ~ 14 days after arrival. If Starship SN15 manages a static fire on Wednesday, April 21, it will pass 13 days after launch at the launch site. With any luck, the SpaceX Texas team is just running out of issues and getting acquainted with the upgraded Starship and Raptor designs, which will eventually bear fruit in the form of improved reliability and ease of operation and installation.
Captured by several unofficial photographers, the Raptor SN54, SN61 and SN66 engines were transported simultaneously to the launch pad on April 15. SN61 and SN66 were quickly installed in a few days, but SN54 was eventually returned to the site for further work before returning to the buffer for a successful installation on SN15 on April 19th. The differences between these “new” Raptors and older engines (SN1-SN53) are not entirely clear, but the subtle differences in the appearance of the plumbing and the installed components suggest an overall improvement in the change of pitch over the entire engine design.
Time will tell if the many upgrades to the Starship SN15 and its Raptor engines will combine to produce a more reliable and successful vehicle. Awaiting a successful static fire, the SN15 will be the fifth spacecraft to attempt an altitude flight as early as the end of this week or sometime next week.
