SpaceX Completes 11 Engine Long Duration Firing With Booster 7

SpaceX has successfully completed a long duration static fire test of 11 raptor engines on Super Heavy Booster 7 at the company's facility in Starbase Texas. This test comes about 2 weeks after the same vehicle completed a 14 engine shorter duration firing. SpaceX is currently slowly ramping up testing operations at the facility ahead of what is hoped to be an orbital flight test with B7 and Ship 24 before the end of the year, though delays and a slow testing campaign will likely push the debut of the vehicle into Q1 of 2023.

Today's test, though sporting less engines than the previous, was still a notable test at best. This firing marked the first time SpaceX tanked a booster to the brim with LOX for a static fire test and was likely another test of the vehicles autogenous pressurization system. The first test of said system was 3 months ago when a single raptor engine was fired for 20 seconds. As mentioned, SpaceX continues to take leaps towards the very first orbital flight test of the starship full stack, completing more and more of these multi-engine firings keeps engineers with a constant plethora of ground support equipment and vehicle data to comb through, to ensure all systems stay healthy through the duration of the campaign. The next test to occur will likely see SpaceX raise the number of engines fired once again, as they work their way up to the ultimate 33 engine static fire test, slated for the weeks ahead.

Link to the SpaceX tweet and image of the firing from today can be found here.