SpaceX had never tested the starship in this way, and it worked well

It was a test that SpaceX had never undertaken, and which took place at the end of July. In a message published on X (ex-Twitter) on August 3, 2025, the American company specializing in astronautics and space flight reported that the most recent static fires of the starship had taken place on the orbital launch medium. A first.

This support, which is called in English OLM (Orbital Launch Mount), ” had been modified by the engineers and technicians of Starbase », The center in Texas from which SpaceX builds and assembles its starship launchers, then tests them in real conditions. It is from there that the flights of the rocket are carried out, with more or less success.

Usually, it is not on this structure that SpaceX leads its static fires. The American company has another site, in Starbase, which serves it as a test bench. However, it was strongly damaged during an explosion in July-it was already a test of a higher stage of starship that went wrong. It was therefore necessary to go through another spot.

In fact, this support constitutes the platform on which starship is placed before takeoff. It is a huge piece made of concrete and steel, which supports the immense weight of the launcher with its loaded tanks. The load is distributed over six feet, and the OLM is covered by a wall of water with each fireplace to absorb the shock wave and the heat.

This support was seriously damaged in April 2023, during a very first starship test. Since then, this launch table, which looks like a gigantic stool, has been reinforced to support the power of fire. In addition to the flood system, the Launch Mountain orbital has received flame deflectors.

Since then, OLM has always cashed each new shooting test. But, here, it was necessary to adapt the support so that the upper floor does not leave. A static firing consists in retaining the machine at its shot, despite the fire to its motorization. This took place in two stages: July 31 with a single engine, on August 1 with the six.

Two ignition tests successfully passed, without detonation

The smooth running of the two tests is a good omen for the future. This sequence which has just been completed is the one on which SpaceX had stumbled a few weeks ago, in mid-June. While the company was also preparing to make a full -time static shot with the previous copy (“Ship 36”), the loading of ergols had a serious concern and trained a huge explosion on a test site.

The preliminary data suggested that the detonation would have been caused by a carbon fiber pressure tank, which broke below its test pressure. This container is used for storage of compressed fluids – here, nitrogen. Obviously, this scenario did not reproduce when loading fluids and tests.

This time, none of this with the “Ship 37”. “” Full -duration static shooting for starship in preparation for our tenth flight test “Wrote the firm, delivering two photos and two videos of the sequence. The ignition of the six vehicle engines lasted just under ten seconds and ended in a plume of smoke.

There remains a question: when will the next flight take place? Elon Musk, the founder and owner of the company, advanced a wave of shooting window, fixed at the beginning of August. Before, he also planned to organize a small stage to evoke the future of this rocket, with a close -up expected on the progress made.