Starship Serial Number 4, or SN4, was a Starship prototype intended for sub-orbital testing.[1] The vehicle passed all proof tests, and was the first prototype of the Starship program to undergo static fires since Starhopper.[2] SN4 was destroyed on 29 May 2020 after a successful static fire test,[3] due to the failure of the ground support equipment's experimental "quick-disconnect" system.
Timeline[]
- April 2020: First spotted[4]
- 23 April 2020: Rolled out to launch site[5]
- 26 April 2020: Testing begins[6]
- 30 April or 1 May 2020: Raptor SN18 installed[2][7]
- 5 or 6 May 2020: Static fire tests begin[2][8]
- 7 or 8 May 2020: Raptor SN18 removed
- 10 or 11 May 2020: Raptor SN20 installed[2][7]
- 29 May 2020: Destroyed shortly after it's fifth static fire test
Testing campaign[]
| Date | Test type | Outcome | Details |
| 26 april 2020 | Ambient pressure test | Success | Ambient pressure test with nitrogen |
| 27 April 2020 | Cryogenic pressure test | Success | SN4 conducted a cryogenic pressure test with thrust simulation |
| 5 May 2020 | Preburner test | Success | SN4 conducted a preburner test (RSN 18) |
| 6 May 2020 | Static fire | Success | SN4 conducted its first static fire (RSN 18) |
| 7 May 2020 | Static fire | Success | SN4 conducted a second static fire (RSN 18) |
| 9 May 2020 | Ambient pressure test | success | Ambient pressure test with nitrogen |
| 10 May 2020 | Cryogenic pressure test | success | SN4 conducted a cryogenic pressure test with thrust simulation |
| 17 May 2020 | Preburner test | success | SN4 conducted its first preburner test with RSN 20 |
| 19 May 2020 | Static fire | success | SN4 conducted a static fire but a small leak caused a small fire and damaged the pad |
| 28 May 2020 | Static fire | success | SN4 conducted a static fire (RSN 20) |
| 29 May 2020 | Static fire | failure | SN4 conducted a static fire with RSN20. However, a propellant leak due to a malfunction of the valves ignited and caused the loss of the vehicle |
References[]
- ↑
https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn2-prototype-pressure-test.html - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://twitter.com/BocaCharts/status/1394917558730514433
- ↑ https://spacenews.com/spacex-starship-prototype-destroyed-after-static-fire-test/
- ↑ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/04/spacex-starship-sn3-ground-flight-testing/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ2swq0EA9I
- ↑ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/04/starship-sn4-set-for-test/
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://twitter.com/artzius/status/1396161289794228229
- ↑ https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/starship-sn4-test