Starship Hopper Testing Set for Wednesday at Earliest
After a day worth of hard work, the workers at #SpaceX have finally installed the first raptor on #StarHopper . Congratulations to Elon musk and all the hard workers at SpaceX. It’s almost time for StarHopper to purr like a kitten????????????. pic.twitter.com/YIhbNhqJEk
— Austin Barnard???? (@austinbarnard45) March 16, 2019
The Monitor reports on SpaceX’s plans to test its Starship Hopper this week at Boca Chica near Brownsville, Texas:
Cameron County has posted public notice that it will close Highway 4 to Boca Chica Beach for space flight activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.
In the alternative, the public notice said Highway 4 to Boca Chica Beach will be closed for the same time duration on either Thursday or Friday.
17 responses to “Starship Hopper Testing Set for Wednesday at Earliest”
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It. Begins…
Like Grasshopper before it; short hops first, then jumps followed by leaps.
That’s one small hop for a can…
… (potentially) one giant heap for cankind. 🙂
You both should be canned for that. 🙂
As soon as the leg pads leave the deck it will be the first FFSC engine to fly.
Looks like it has been rescheduled for tomorrow.
And while the Starhopper is getting ready to hop SpaceX has started building the hull of the first orbital Starship next to where Starhopper was built.
Are we expecting tethered test for first hop?
Probably impossible to find a tether strong enough, unless he gets hold of an old battleship anchor chain. Remember, this is powered by Raptors…
I doubt they will dangle it. More likely it is just designed to keep it from crashing HARD, or from tipping over. As such, a whole lot less mass on there.
Word is, tethered. First “flight” might not be a hop at all, but people are speculating on a vertical distance of somewhere between a few feet and a few inches.
Specifically, SpaceX has pointed out that the first test(s?) will not be visible from the boundaries of the property; it’s not going “up” much, if any.
Generally things with that much propellant go quite high when they explode 😉
I love that
“FINALLY installed their first Raptor”
The kid thinks SpaceX has been dragging ass!
Lolol
It is because he is working on Silicon Valley time instead of NASA time.
Regardless of what you think about this program, this will probably herald in a new era of space flight. The question is how that evolution will play out and at what pace? The cheerleaders say fast, the poops like me say slow and tumultuous. Let the metal fly, and fly it will. God speed Starship. Good luck Space X.
Mars 2024 here we come pack your bags 🙂
Here is a website that is streaming a live view. It helps you appreciate just how large the Starhopper is.
https://www.youtube.com/wat…