With Falcon 9 grounded, SpaceX test-fires booster for next Starship flight

Enlarge / A drone shot looking down on SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster during a test-firing of its 33 Raptor engines Monday. SpaceX

It’s unclear yet how long SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket will remain grounded as engineers investigate a rare launch failure last week, but the next test flight of the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle appears to be on track for liftoff next month.

On Monday, SpaceX test-fired the 33 Raptor engines on the Starship rocket’s Super Heavy booster at the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The methane-fueled engines fired for about eight seconds, long enough for SpaceX engineers to

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