--- title: "Elon Musk: Starhopper Survived Massive Fireball, Will Fly Again Soon" description: "According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the miniaturized \"Starhopper\" survived an unexpected massive fireball without breaking a sweat." date: "2019-07-19" modified: "2019-07-19" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-starhopper-survived-fireball-fly-again" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Off-World" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk: Starhopper Survived Massive Fireball, Will Fly Again Soon ![]() *\Image: Elon Musk/Twitter/Victor Tangermann\* ## Massive Fireball SpaceX's prototype for its gigantic Starship rocket erupted into a [massive fireball]() on Wednesday. But according to CEO Elon Musk, the miniaturized "Starhopper" survived the unexpected event without breaking a sweat. https://youtu.be/JKyZ_7ZjabU When asked on Twitter if Starhopper was okay, [Musk responded]() "yeah, big advantage of being made of high strength stainless steel: not bothered by a little heat!" "Post-test fuel leak, but no major damage," Musk [added](). ## Star Hopping The static fire test was a routine operation — something that all of SpaceX's rockets have to endure. To stay true to its name, Starhopper will soon be attempting its first untethered hop, or test flight, to an altitude of [just 65 feet](). And that could happen very soon. "Aiming for hover test next week," Musk tweeted in a [separate follow-up](). The prototype has already completed a [tiny tethered hop]() back in April. ## Moonshot If all goes well, SpaceX's Starship rocket could ferry astronauts to the Moon and far beyond. Two crews of engineers in Texas and Florida are building and testing early versions of the rocket, effectively racing each other to make Starship a reality. But SpaceX still has plenty of work to do. Starhopper is outfitted with only a single Raptor engine. A fully operational Starship that could bring up to 100 passengers to the Moon will need to accommodate six Raptor engines. **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk Says SpaceX's Starhopper Prototype Survived Fireball, May Fly Next Week]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on Starship:** *[SpaceX's Starship Hopper Completes First Tethered “Hop”]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()