I asked Siri to wake me at 7:15 this morning so I could watch SpaceX’s second Integrated Flight Test of Super Heavy Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. Unfortunately, my house suffered a rare power outage an hour or two earlier, so I found myself lying in bed watching the coverage on my iPhone.
The sunrise launch was truly spectacular, a major improvement over the first test earlier this year, when multiple engines failed at launch. This morning, for the first time in any test, all 33 Raptor methalox engines ignited together and ran throughout the boost phase! With a thrill and a shiver, I recalled the excited “Voice of Apollo” Jack King announcing a good start to Apollo 11 with inspiring words that have reverberated throughout my life, “All engine(s) running” (without the “s”).
All engines running! The largest and most powerful rocket ever made under full power, 2023 November 18. (Photo credit: SpaceX.)
Sunrise, Boca Chica, Texas, 2023 November 18. (Photo credit: SpaceX.)
