Spaceflight Insider
Derek Richardson
February 2nd, 2021
Starships SN9, right, and SN10 stand tall at the Boca Chica launch complex on the morning of Jan. 30. SpaceX has been granted permission to fly Starship SN9 as early as Feb. 2. It appears the company will be launching while SN10 is on a nearby pad. Credit: Nicholas D’Alessandro / Spaceflight Insider
Late on Feb. 1, the Federal Aviation Administration granted approval for SpaceX to test its Starship SN9 prototype as early as Feb. 2.
This approval comes after some confusion last week about why SpaceX had not yet been given clearance by the FAA. It turns out that the two organizations were still working through safety details stemming from the SN8 flight in December 2020.
While SpaceX continues to face regulatory holds from the FAA for Starship SN9 flight certification, Starship SN10 has been rolled out to the launch pad.
SpaceX set for ambitious Starship SN9 high-altitude test
Nicholas D Alessandro
January 26th, 2021
Starship SN9 is set to fly its 12.5-kilometer high-altitude flight as early as this week. Credit: Nicholas D’Alessandro / Spaceflight Insider
With the remnants of the explosively successful flight of SN8 only recently cleared from the pad, the next prototype in line, Starship SN9, continues the company’s theme of ultra-rapid development.
All major pre-flight tests, the cryogenic proof test that ensures the vehicle can be pressurized with super-chilled propellants and a saga of static fires of the three Raptor engines have now been completed. SpaceX currently looks to be targeting Jan. 27, 2021, for a 12.5-kilometer high-altitude flight for its SN9 test article.
Spaceflight Insider
January 25th, 2021
Starship SN9 at dawn. Credit: Nicholas D’Alessandro / Spaceflight Insider
Preflight testing for Starship SN9 appears to be complete ahead of the follow-up to last-month’s unprecedented SN8 high-altitude flight, which culminated in a controlled aerodynamic descent and a landing flip maneuver.
The SN9 flight was tantalizingly close until an unheard-of three static test fires occurred in one day on Jan. 13, 2021. The brief hot fires revealed issues with the original raptor engines installed.
In the down-time, two engines were replaced, which required some additional time to configure, with a multitude of aborted and scrubbed static fire test attempts in the following days.
Spaceflight Insider
Nicholas D Alessandro
January 14th, 2021
An artist’s rendering of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket during its ascent into orbit. Credit: Blue Origin
Last month, the U.S. space agency awarded a NASA Launch Services contract to Blue Origin and its New Glenn rocket.
NASA announced the award in a Dec. 16, 2020, press release, stating that Blue Origin’s orbital New Glenn rocket will be available for future missions under the agency’s Launch Services Program.
The news comes in the form of a NASA Launch Services II contract being awarded to Blue Origin and its New Glenn rocket, which allows the launch system to be available as part of NASA LSP for future missions,