Starship's Progress: Booster 9 Prepared For Testing At SpaceX Starbase In Boca Chica

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX on Thursday shared pictures of Starship super heavy booster 9 at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The booster was transported to the orbital launchpad at Starbase for testing ahead of the flight.

What Happened: The four images shared by the rocket manufacturer show the booster upright and towering over its surroundings at the launchpad.

In an interview to the end of June, Musk pegged the second test flight of Starship in about six weeks. Going with that estimate, the second test flight should occur in another three weeks or less.

Starship, composed of the Super Heavy rocket and the spacecraft, aims to create a fully reusable transportation system for crew and cargo missions to Earth's orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Why It Matters: SpaceX conducted the first test launch of Starship in April. However, it exploded in less than four minutes after take-off.

Earlier this month, CEO Musk said that the Starship will have three more engines, taking the total number of raptor engines in the Starship to 42. Super Heavy alone will be powered by 33 Raptor engines, with 13 in the center and the remaining 20 around the perimeter of the booster's aft end.

Ship 25, the prototype that will make the second flight test, completed a six-engine static fire test- a key milestone before the second test flight– at Starbase last month.

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