SpaceX Successfully Completes Test Fire of Super Heavy Rocket Booster, Marking Major Milestone for Company

SpaceX, the aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company, has successfully completed a test fire of its Super Heavy rocket booster. The test fire, which took place at the company’s Boca Chica, Texas test facility, was the first static fire test for the Super Heavy booster and marks a major milestone for SpaceX.

The Super Heavy booster is powered by 31 Raptor engines, capable of generating up to 16.5 million pounds of thrust. This is twice the power of NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket. During the test fire, one engine was turned off just before start and one stopped itself, so 31 engines fired overall.

The Super Heavy booster is expected to be the most powerful launch vehicle ever built. It is designed to carry payloads of up to 140,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, and up to 37,000 pounds to Mars. The test fire is a major step towards the booster’s maiden flight, which is expected to take place as early as next month.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the test fire was a success, tweeting, “Team turned off 1 engine just before start & 1 stopped itself, so 31 engines fired overall.”

The Super Heavy booster is part of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft, which is designed to carry humans to the Moon and Mars. The Starship is expected to be the first fully reusable launch vehicle, capable of taking off and landing vertically.

The successful test fire of the Super Heavy booster is a major milestone for SpaceX and a step closer to the company’s goal of providing safe and reliable space transportation services.