SpaceX Launches And Completes Starship Prototype Test Over The Skies Of Texas
CAMERON COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) — SpaceX successfully completed a hop test of the starship project's SN5 prototype.
The test was performed at the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas -- about 22 miles east of Brownsville.
Resembling a giant metal grain silo, the starship test rocket's single Raptor engine — powered by liquid oxygen and high-energy methane propellant — ignited at 6:57 p.m. CST, boosting the vehicle into the sky
The SN5 "hopped" as it was designed to do.... going nearly 500 feet into the air before coming back down and landing on its legs.
SpaceX hopes to eventually build on this success for long-term space flight. They plan to eventually use the starship to carry dozens of passengers to space.
The hop test was a bit of redemption after a SpaceX prototype exploded earlier this year.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The CNN Wire™ & © 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company contributed to this report.)
