‘Starship to the moon’: SN10 engine swap underway as Elon Musk’s SpaceX prepares for major test

The Mars-bound craft could perform a lunar orbit as early as 2023

Elon Musk shared photos of Starship SN10 on Thursday, 25 February, 2021 (Elon Musk/ Twitter)

SpaceX has suffered a setback with its preparations for the third major test of its Starship spacecraft, though still plans to push ahead with it in the coming days.

An issue with one of the Starship SN10’s three Raptor engines means it needs to be replaced before the high-altitude flight can take place at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas.

Road closures have been extended through to Tuesday, 2 March, suggesting the engine replacement could be completed either this week or early next week in time for a high-altitude flight.

The last Starship flight took place on 2 February, ending in crash landing similar to that of the first ever proper flight test that occurred on 9 December, 2020.

Despite the failed landings, the SN8 and SN9 crafts were still able to complete a number of key milestones that are crucial to its development.

The Starship SN9 and SN8 flight tests both ended in a crash landing (SpaceX)

SpaceX boss Elon Musk shared two images of the Starship SN10 as work was being done on Thursday, 25 February. One photo was captioned: “Starship to the moon.”

The technology billionaire moved from California to Texas last year, in part to help accelerate the progress of Starship’s development.

In a company-wide email last May, Mr Musk told employees to make Starship their “top priority” as he bids to realise his ambition of establishing inter-planetary space travel.

If the prototype tests prove successful, SpaceX hopes to manufacture up to 100 Starships every year and station them on converted oil rigs around the world.

These launch platforms will facilitate hypersonic travel around the globe, as well as trips to the moon. From there, Starships could ferry people and cargo around the solar system.

Mr Musk’s ultimate goal is to transform humanity into a multi-planetary species by establishing a permanent colony on Mars. The first crewed trips to the Red Planet could take place as early as 2024, according to his ambitious timeline.