"Good paint can!"
Another Success
SpaceX has done it again.
The sixth full-scale prototype of its massive Starship spacecraft has "hopped" to 150 meters (492 feet) during a test at the company's test site in Boca Chica, Texas today.
IGNITION! Starship SN6 Hop Test!
Under the power of Raptor SN29, SN6 has completed a near-mirror test of SN5's hop!
SUCCESS Again!https://t.co/0MpH7zzx7X pic.twitter.com/gwiaHI3hLU
— Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) September 3, 2020
It's the experimental space vehicle's second hop: on August 4, SpaceX pulled off a similar feat with its SN5 Starship prototype.
"Cool As Hell"
Just like last time, it was quite the sight. Like a gigantic water tower, the massive stainless steel structure rose out of a huge plume of smoke before gently returning back to the ground.
Good paint can! pic.twitter.com/2zsW0lRZim
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) September 3, 2020
"This looks simultaneously cool as hell and fucking ridiculous," tweeted Ars Technica senior space reporter Eric Berger following the first hop on August 4.
This time, SN6 appeared to be at a bit of an angle post landing.
"She's leaning a bit, but they'll take that," Chris Bergin, NASASpaceFlight's managing editor, wrote in a tweet. "Probably a leg, but no big deal. The up and down part is what counts."
READ MORE: LIVE: SpaceX Hops Starship SN6 to 150 Meters [YouTube]
More on the first hop: Incredible: Watch SpaceX Fly Full-Scale Starship Prototype to 500 Feet
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