SpaceX fires up Starship SN5 rocket prototype ahead of first test flight

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SpaceX just fired the engine of its latest Starship prototype, paving the way for a test flight in the near future.

The company conducted a "static fire" test of Starship SN5 today (July 30), letting its single Raptor engine blaze while the vehicle remained tethered to the ground at SpaceX's South Texas facilities, near the village of Boca Chica.

The successful trial apparently earned the stainless-steel SN5, a test version of SpaceX's Mars-colonizing Starship spacecraft, a chance to slip its leash.