SpaceX fires up 3-engine Starship SN8 prototype ahead of epic test flight - Space.com

SpaceX's next-gen Starship vehicle just took a big step toward its next milestone leap!

Early this morning (Oct. 20), SpaceX lit up the three Raptor engines on its SN8 ("Serial No. 8") Starship prototype in a brief "static fire" test at the company's South Texas site, near the beachside village of Boca Chica. .

Static fires, in which engines are ignited while a launch vehicle remains tethered to the ground, are a common precursor to flight.

Related: Starship and Super Heavy: SpaceX's Mars-colonizing vehicles in images.

But the newest vehicle will look far more spaceship-y when it takes off, sporting a nose cone and orientation-controlling body flaps, Musk has said. .

"Data from 3 engine Starship static fire this morning looks good.

The 165-foot-tall (50 m) Starship vehicle will launch from Earth atop a huge rocket called Super Heavy, which will sport about 30 Raptors of its own. !

SpaceX eventually plans to use Starship and Super Heavy for all of its spaceflight needs, from launching satellites to carrying people and payloads to the moon, Mars and other distant destinations. .

The Raptor engine is also well suited for Mars colonization, one of the chief long-term goals of Musk and SpaceX.