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Spaceflight

SpaceX aborts Starhopper spaceship prototype 'hop' test in dramatic video

By James Rogers Fox News
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SpaceX aborts Starhopper untethered test hop Video

SpaceX aborts Starhopper untethered test hop

Raw video: Starhopper is a prototype for the Starship program, which SpaceX hopes will take humans and cargo to the Moon and Mars.

A dramatic video shows the moment when SpaceX aborted its attempt to “hop” its’ Starhopper spaceship prototype 65 feet into the air.

The test, which was performed on Wednesday, aimed to “hop” the craft, or barely lift off. However, when Stargopper's engine fired, it was not lifted off the ground at SpaceX's test facility at Boca Chica, Texas. Instead, a flame shot skywards and smoke billowed around the rocket.

“It appears as though we had an abort in today’s test, as we can see, the vehicle did not lift off today,” explained a SpaceX official during a livestream of the test. “This is a development program, today is a test program designed to test the boundaries of the vehicle,” the commentator added.

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Space.com reports that the rocket’s Raptor engine was ignited for about three seconds.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the test was aborted as a result of high chamber pressure due to colder-than-expected rocket propellant.

Starhopper is a prototype for SpaceX’s Starship, which will be used for Earth orbit missions, as well as journeys to the Moon and Mars. Wednesday’s test would have been the first untethered flight for Starhopper, according to Space.com, which notes that the company completed two tethered test hops in April.

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Earlier this month, Starhopper was engulfed in flames during a static-fire test. “Big advantage of being made of high strength stainless steel: not bothered by a little heat!,” tweeted Musk following the static-fire test. “Post test fuel leak, but no major damage,” he added.

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July 20 marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers