Update on Starship SN11 as SpaceX marches to static fire

The sun is rising behind Starship SN10 for its test flight in early March. Starship SN11 could fly as early as this Friday, pending a successful static fire test. Credit: Nicholas D’Alessandro / Spaceflight Insider

SpaceX Starship production continues, along with SN11 which is now undergoing the static burn phase of the Raptor engine.

The company is continuing its rapid production cadence and test flow when Starship SN11 rolled to the launch pad on March 7, 2021 at the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas. This came just days after SN10’s hard but successful landing (and the subsequent explosion about 10 minutes later).

Remains of the aftermath of that flight were still on the landing pad when SN11 arrived at Pad B and completed the environmental and cryogenic experiment in the following days.

After taking the usual weekend break, an initial static fire attempt was made on Monday, March 15, but after ignition there appeared to be a stop with a long howl of the engines and rapid pressure, indicating a non-rated test .

Another attempt may be made in the coming days pending a corresponding road closure. The results of the static fire could pave the way for a flight as early as Friday or Saturday, as evidenced by the temporary flight restrictions in effect for those days at the time of writing. However, these dates are highly subject to change, as is customary with the fledgling Starship program.

Federal Aviation Administration approval has also been granted before the flight already and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk himself recently posted on Twitter that Starship SN11 will soon be ready to fly. All eyes are now on the next static fire.

A summary of the flight of Starship SN10. Video courtesy of SpaceX

Tagged: Lead Stories SpaceX Starship Starship SN10 Starship SN11

Nicholas D’Alessandro

Nicholas D’Alessandro was born and raised in Southwest Florida. The seeds of his interest in space exploration were planted when the sonic boom of the shuttle would reverberate through his childhood home on return, even across the state; the knowledge that a real spacecraft was flying overhead and could have that effect was fascinating to him. A high school field trip to the Kennedy Space Center reinforced that fascination, and with an added interest in burgeoning automotive technology and Teslas, it was the story of Elon Musk’s path to Cape Canaveral with SpaceX that eventually led Nicholas to the Space Coast and, after joining Spaceflight Insider in 2020, will begin documenting the dawn of commercial spaceflight.