Elon Musk: SpaceX Starhopper lifts off (a little bit)
The latest Starship and Raptor engine test gets a little more exciting.
SpaceX isn't wasting any time between tests of its prototype Starship "hopper," now known as the Starhopper. Founder Elon Musk shared some fresh fiery test footage this weekend, declaring that "Starhopper just lifted off and hit tether limits!"
Starhopper just lifted off & hit tether limits! pic.twitter.com/eByJsq2jiw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 6, 2019
Starhopper is undergoing tests with a single Raptor engine attached underneath it at SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The hopper first fired up on April 3. The tethered prototype isn't meant to reach space.
Musk's declaration that Starhopper hit the end of its tether indicates the second hop was likely higher than the first.
Space aficionados are on the ground in Boca Chica watching the test hops from afar and discussing them on the NASASpaceFlight.com forum. The site posted another look at the hop from outside the road blocks around the facility.
SpaceX is developing Starship with the goal of getting humans off this rock and some day around the moon and all the way to Mars. Musk already set an ambitious timeline for launching a Starship full of artists around our lunar neighbor in 2023.
The tethered rocket engine tests are important, but just a hint of what could come. Starship itself should end up sporting seven Raptor engines, but it's also meant to be paired with a SpaceX Super Heavy rocket, which could use up to 31. That would be a big show.
