After a prototype of SpaceX's Starship failed to withstand pressure and explode during a test in February, Elon Musk's company has now successfully passed this stage. This weekend, a model of the spacecraft that will "travel" to Mars underwent a new pressure test and, this time, resisted.
The videos were shared by Elon Musk on Twitter, with the prototype "facing" a challenge that is not new to the company, again in the State of Texas. The objective was to verify if the structure and components of the prototype were able to withstand cryogenic pressure levels. The CEO of SpaceX now ensures that the company can proceed with flight tests.
This stage was responsible for the destruction of three previous prototypes, namely one carried out at the end of February. The video captured by sources close to SpaceX's facilities in Texas revealed at the time that one of the spacecraft's tanks filled with liquid nitrogen, thus causing a system disruption and an explosion.
The History of SpaceX Starship
The Starship prototype was introduced to the world in early 2019 and the spacecraft aims to go to Mars. In December of last year, Elon Musk announced that the SpaceX team had spent a very busy Christmas season developing the Starship SN1 prototype. At the time, the company was developing the top dome of the Starship SN1, seen by its CEO as the most difficult part when it comes to the components of the new ship. The tycoon revealed that he expected the space vehicle to take off in two or three months.
SpaceX recently obtained approval to build a new factory where to develop the technology needed to take manned missions to the Moon and Mars. If all goes as planned, the future facilities of the company led by Elon Musk will be located in one of the segments of the port of Los Angeles for the next 10 years.
In January of this year, SpaceX was able to successfully carry out a test of the mission's emergency system, managing to obtain NASA certification for the start of pilot tests of Crew Dragon. The next step is to do a manned test with Demo-2, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020.
