During fire tests of the engine of the SpaceX Starhopper test rocket, which took place on Tuesday evening, an unexpected fire broke out.
For testing, the rocket was equipped with a single Raptor engine. As in April, the Starhopper was held by a tether, so it was only a few centimeters off the ground in the first round of testing.
As the video shows, the engine performance check was successful, but the fire did not go out, and after a while the flame increased, turning into a massive fireball that soared into the night sky.
The company has not yet said whether the Starhopper was damaged, but the second, main part of the test, during which the rocket was supposed to take off to a height of about 20 m, had to be canceled.
Made of stainless steel, the Starhopper rocket is designed to perform a series of test vertical takeoffs and landings. Earlier, in 2012, the company conducted similar tests on a prototype Falcon 9 rocket called Grasshopper.
Starship is expected to start flying into space on a regular basis in 2020. In the future, it will take over some of the missions currently carried out using Falcon 9 rockets. This rocket will be used to send astronauts to the Moon, and in the future - for missions to Mars.
Source: 3dnews.ru