SpaceX beginning final assembly of Starship SN1 ahead of roll to the pad – NASASpaceflight.com, Nasaspaceflight.com

SpaceX teams have begun stacking Starship SN1 in Boca Chica, Texas. The rocket is gearing up for its first flight, which will see the vehicle fly to around kilometers in altitude and then propulsively land back at the launch facility.

( Lead Photo by Jack Beyer for NSF )

SN1 is SpaceX’s second Starship vehicle to be built in Boca Chica. The original Starship – named Mk1 – failed cryogenic pressurization testing . The failure prevented Mk1 from getting the chance to fire its three Raptor engines .

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SN1 is currently intended to be SpaceX’s first Starship to perform a flight.

Unlike the Mk1 build, where SpaceX began stacking the vehicle from the beginning of production, teams are taking a more pragmatic approach with SN1.

Launch (kinda) Starship SN1 section has been lifted off its mount for mating.

@ SpacePadreIsle

live: https://t.co/vmijqzHVGH pic.twitter.com/R46 HfNaXqy

– Chris B – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) February ,

Instead, the vehicle is being assembled in smaller chunks which will then be welded together during final assembly.

SpaceX recently stacked two of the chunks together to complete the majority of SN1’s tank section. Due to the sections being mostly completed before stacking, the final assembly of SN1 should occur much faster than Mk1.

It is understood that SpaceX is currently hoping to have the entire vehicle stacked and moved to the pad by the end of the month.

If all goes well, a static fire of the SN1 vehicle’s three Raptor engines could then occur in early March, potentially setting the stage for the 43 kilometer hop within a few weeks of the static fire.

However, due to the fluid nature of test campaigns, setbacks and schedule slips are likely. Unfavorable weather is also forecasted over the next few days, potentially leading to additional delays.

While this timeframe may sound ambitious given that only the tank section of the vehicle has been stacked together so far, all of the remaining sections of SN1 are currently being stored inside of the tents in Boca Chica.