SpaceX has conducted a static fire test of the Starship Ship 42 vehicle at the Massey test site in Texas. The test involved firing a single Raptor engine to evaluate the propulsion system performance ahead of the upcoming Flight 15 mission.
The company is currently preparing Ship 42 and the Booster 22 accelerator for the next flight, which includes plans to capture the booster upon its return. Engineers are analyzing data from the recent single-engine test to prepare for a future full-duration static fire involving all six engines of Ship 42.
In parallel, SpaceX is testing capture procedures for the Starship system using mechanical arms known as chopsticks. These operations with Ship 43 are aimed at refining the technology required for the recovery and reuse of the launch vehicle stages.
