The upgraded Super Heavy booster slated to launch SpaceX\u2019s next Starship flight has completed cryogenic proof testing, clearing a hurdle that resulted in the destruction of the company\u2019s previous booster.<\/p>\n
SpaceX announced the milestone in a social media post Tuesday: \u201cCryoproof operations complete for the first time with a Super Heavy V3 booster. This multi-day campaign tested the booster\u2019s redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ground teams at Starbase, Texas, rolled the 237-foot-tall (72.3-meter) stainless-steel booster out of its factory and transported it a few miles away to Massey\u2019s Test Site last week. The test crew first performed a pressure test on the rocket at ambient temperatures, then loaded super-cold liquid nitrogen into the rocket four times over six days, putting the booster through repeated thermal and pressurization cycles. The nitrogen is a stand-in for the cryogenic methane and liquid oxygen that will fill the booster\u2019s propellant tanks on launch day.<\/p>\n
The proof test is notable because it moves engineers closer to launching the first test flight of an upgraded version of SpaceX\u2019s mega-rocket named Starship V3\u00a0or Block 3. SpaceX launched the previous version, Starship V2, five times last year, but the first three test flights failed. The last two flights achieved SpaceX\u2019s goals, and the company moved on to V3.<\/p>\n
Better results this time<\/p>\n