SpaceX's 33 Starship Engines will be Fired at Once this Week

The president of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell, said Wednesday that the company plans to attempt a milestone with the Starship in the coming weeks.

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SpaceX plans to perform a "static fire" on Thursday, in which all 33 engines that sit at the base of the Starship's rocket booster will simultaneously be tested. In November 2011, the company conducted a test firing of 14 of these engines in order to prepare for an orbital launch attempt with a prototype of the Starship spacecraft. "Tomorrow will be a big day for SpaceX," Shotwell told a gathering in Washington, D.C. as part of the FAA's annual Commercial Space Transportation conference on Wednesday.

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As a rocket with a height of nearly 400 feet, Starship is intended to carry cargo and people beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In addition, SpaceX has been tapped by NASA for a nearly $3 billion contract in 2021 to return astronauts to the moon, and this contract is crucial to NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon.

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At the end of last month, in the most recent crucial test, the company completed a "wet rehearsal" with Starship prototype 24 stacked up on Super Heavy booster prototype 7.

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Shotwell, speaking to reporters on Wednesday at the conference, stressed that despite the scale of the prototypes, this is just a first attempt and it should be viewed as an experimental endeavor.

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“Remember, this is only a test flight, so success isn't blowing up the pad,” Shotwell said.

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It was originally hoped that SpaceX would launch the first orbital Starship as early as summer 2021, but delays in progress and a lack of regulatory approval have caused the launch to be delayed until summer 2022. Shotwell said that SpaceX will be ready to fly right about the time that they receive the license from the FAA in order to launch Starship, with SpaceX requiring a license from the FAA in order to launch Starship.

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On the other hand, Shotwell stated that there have been "no major issues" that have caused the delays on the development side of things.

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“In the end, there are a lot of little things that have to be done, especially since we weren't really focusing on the orbital ship, we were concentrating on the production systems that will be used to build the ship. "We know how to get to orbit," Shotwell said with confidence.

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“It is true that the company has stepped up the pace of its Falcon series rocket launches to once every four days, but Shotwell said the existing Falcon rockets cannot be launched at the same rate on a daily basis. What is the point of building rockets every day, if we can build them every day? That is what we are focusing our efforts on with Starship, a process that will allow us to build a great number of these machines by addressing every aspect of the production process," Shotwell said.

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Three private flights, including one to the moon and one to space, have already been booked by wealthy individuals on Starship. However, Shotwell reiterated the words of Elon Musk's CEO in an earlier interview, pointing out that before Starship can fly humans, it must launch on 'hundreds of flights'.

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As Shotwell noted, SpaceX's current main product, its Falcon rockets and Dragon capsules are "making money," with the money it receives from its regular fundraising activities going to the company's ambitious projects in development.

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Trade Algo recently reported that SpaceX raised $750 million in its most recent round of funding at a valuation of $137 billion, according to the report. In essence, the cash flow from those operations essentially pays for the development of our company. “We take external investment in the areas where it falls short," Shotwell said.

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Starlink, a satellite internet service provided by the company, is making progress when it comes to ensuring that the financial stability of the company continues to improve. With the launch of more than 3,500 satellites, SpaceX has created a global broadband network that was able to reach 1 million subscribers by the end of the year.

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"This year, Starlink is going to be able to make money.” During the third quarter of last year, Shotwell found that his company had a positive cash flow quarter.

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Shotwell said there is no update regarding SpaceX's plans to IPO its Starlink business. Last year, Trade Algo reported Musk told employees the company won't take Starlink public until 2025 or later.