The test took place at SpaceX’s Massey site in Starbase. Ship 40 conducted its first-ever static fire the previous week, lighting a single Raptor for about 15 seconds. This more recent test lit all six engines, which include three sea-level and three vacuum-optimized Raptors, for a full minute to simulate flight-like conditions on the vehicle.
SpaceX posted video of the engine test to its X account on Thursday, July 2, showing several angles of the ignition sequence and all six engines firing. Ship 40 is slated to fly on the second Version 3 Starship launch. SpaceX debuted the updated prototype during a test flight on May 22. That mission went smoothly for the most part but was not a complete success, as the rocket’s Super Heavy booster failed to maneuver to a soft ocean splashdown as planned. Flight 13 will likely mirror much of the flight path and objectives of the prior mission, including relighting one of Ship’s Raptor engines in space.
The V3 Starship stands 408 feet, or 124.4 meters, tall, about 5 feet taller than the V2, making it the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly. Once development is complete and the vehicle is fully operational, SpaceX plans to use Starship to expand its Starlink satellite-internet network in low Earth orbit and to land NASA astronauts on the moon as part of the Artemis program. The vehicle will also be capable of delivering heavier payloads to orbit than any other rocket in history.
The successful engine test puts SpaceX one step closer to Flight 13. Each test flight builds toward the vehicle’s operational status, and a clean six-engine static fire is a meaningful step in that progression.
Next steps ahead of the launch include rolling the mission’s Super Heavy booster to the pad at Starbase for its own engine tests. Super Heavy carries 33 Raptor engines that produce nearly 20 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Should those static-fire tests go smoothly, Flight 13 could happen as early as August.
