As we progress further in the week, SpaceX’s Starship SN9 prototype is only one step away from lifting off the ground to follow in the late SN8’s footsteps. We know that last month, SN8 had a nearly successful test flight despite it blowing up at the very end; didn’t stick the landing. But the big question is: will SN9 make it intact?
SpaceX’s Starship is the next-generation spaceship designed for carrying hundreds of passengers beyond Earth orbit. It will also be able to ferry passengers to and from different parts of the world such as Shanghai and New York. At first glance, it looks as if SN9 is the real deal, but it’s really a test model with no crew cabin or cockpit. Also, the landing burn maneuver near the end of SN8’s test flight looked very dangerous, so I think it’s best to keep testing with uncrewed models until SpaceX is confident enough to put astronauts and civilians onboard.
Now, there might be a handful of people initially thinking SN9 will go into space. Not quite yet. It’ll only go up to about eight miles and “bellyflop” to the ground before starting two of its three engines at the last second. Hopefully, SN9 will slow down enough to deploy its landing gear and touch down safely. When I watched the SN8 test flight, I was very nervous. Like, my heart was pounding and I was shaking a bit. Plus, I told myself not to cheer and stay calm the whole time. After all, I’m one of those chill people out there.
So, as I’ve learned recently, Starship SN9 will be launching on Saturday after a main engine test scheduled later today. Will this next-gen spaceship prove that it can do what it can do in Earth’s atmosphere before actually going into space? I have 100% faith in SpaceX.
