SpaceX SN5 Has a Successful 150 Meter Hop

The SpaceX SN5 Starship prototype has had a successful 150 meter hop test.

SOURCES – Everyday Astronaut, Space Frontier, Overlook Horizon
Written By Brian Wang, www.nextbigfuture.com

25 thoughts on “SpaceX SN5 Has a Successful 150 Meter Hop”

  1. Wouldn’t be at all surprised. I’m hoping like anything that the lb/LEO costs get so low that `a 2-day stay at an orbital facility goes for not much more than a week in a premium suite on a cruise line. I’ve wanted to be an astronaut ever since I was a kid in the early ’60s, but never got even close to making the cut for it. Civilian space travel? Love to see it. But I’m feeling I may end up having been born too early to see the great expansion…

  2. If you think of the huge amount of research to use 0 g crystal growing possibilities for metal alloys alone, it will indicate all sorts of exotic (high dollar) medical applications. I bet the money may already be there, awaiting the tech.

  3. Possible now, just not economically viable. But with Musk lowering costs… things start opening up.

  4. So, it will look like the Starship images and promotional videos.

    I’eager to see that test. It will be a sight to behold.

  5. Not much smoke on touchdown through. The difference in throttling can’t be that much compared to take-off. Did they clean the landing pad then?

  6. It’s leaning about 1.5 degrees relative to the nearby ocean. It looks like more in some pictures because the camera was tilted. We haven’t heard yet if the ground or the landing legs is the cause of the tilt.

    The smoke is all the local beach sand and silt getting thrown in the air. This is a waterfront location, and it is very windy (watch the NASASpaceflight videos on YouTube and you will see that). So stuff gets blown around everywhere, especially when they had a tropical storm come through a couple weeks ago. The engine exhaust just threw it in the air.

  7. Starhopper (Hoppy) used 12 mm steel, while SN5 used 7 mm steel and much better fabrication methods (robots indoors instead of field welding outside).

    It is expected that SN8 will do the 20 km flight, in a month or two. It will have a nosecone, wing flaps, and three engines, They are also switching to a custom stainless alloy that has better properties for the Starship usage. Until now they were using standard alloys, but it took some time to get the custom alloy produced and qualified.

    At the same time, they are building the high bay for the Superheavy first stage. It will be 81 m tall. They have also poured the foundation for the Superheavy launch pad.

  8. Is the ship listing after landing or is it just an illusion?
    And what is all that dark/orange smoke? Not the same white as with an F9 launch so not only water. The combustion looks totally clean once up.

  9. Congrats. although we have already seen 150 meter hof 1 year ago. Nevertheless they did progress with manufacturing methods, solve some issues and used Starship version instead Starhopper. When we will see more finallized Starship version going up 20 km and landing back, then we will see significant progress.

  10. There is already good research in identifying medically interesting chemical structures at ISS, in 0 g. With Musk rockets, 0 g chemical manufacturing is possible, soon!

  11. I’ve seen it live, when it was two o’clock in the morning in my country.
    This will bring great technological advances of all kinds, I am more interested in those advances, especially in medicine.

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