SpaceX has installed at least two of the three new upgraded Raptors on Starship serial number 15 (SN15) ahead of a three-engine static fire scheduled for Wednesday, April 21.
Originally scheduled late last week, several unknown delays have delayed installation of SN15’s three engines and forced SpaceX to return at least one to the construction site for additional work. As late as this weekend, SpaceX appeared to have plans to statically fire Starship SN15 on Monday and launch the rocket the next day – April 20 (4/20). Those plans have clearly failed.
In SpaceX’s defense, the cessation of flight to the SN15 was similar to the course of its predecessors SN8 through SN11, all of which suffered multiple delays and an average of 30-40 days of testing, repairs and engine replacements on the launch pad before launch. seized. . Equipped with “hundreds of improvements,” including a new Raptor engine design, there was hope that those upgrades and refinements would allow Starship SN15 to go through prelaunch testing, but the vehicle is in about the same boat as all other prototypes at a great height.
Starship SN11 managed its first static firing attempt just a week after rolling to the pad, while both it and SN9 eventually conducted their first three-engine static fires ~ 14 days after arriving. If Starship SN15 manages a static fire on Wednesday, April 21, it will be 13 days after it rolled to the launch site. With any luck, SpaceX’s Texas team will just work out the kinks and familiarize themselves with upgraded Starship and Raptor designs that will eventually pay off in terms of improved reliability and ease of operation and installation.
Captured by several unofficial photographers, the Raptor engines SN54, SN61, and SN66 were simultaneously transported to the launch pad on April 15. SN61 and SN66 were quickly installed in a few days, but SN54 was eventually returned to the construction site for additional work before returning to the pad for a successful installation on SN15 on April 19. The differences between these “new” Raptors and older engines (SN1-SN53) are not entirely clear, but subtle differences in the layout of the pipes and installed components suggest a general refinement of the entire engine design.
Time will tell if the many upgrades on Starship SN15 and its Raptor engines will be combined to produce a more reliable and successful vehicle. In anticipation of a successful static fire, SN15 will be the fifth spaceship to attempt a high-altitude flight by the end of this week or sometime next week.
