Just in time to distract from that ongoing chaos in Washington, DCSpaceX is working on another high altitude test flight of its next generation space flight system.
The latest prototype from Elon Musk's spaceship, which is identified by the serial number SN9, was a short test fire The test is part of a series of checks that may include another static fire and lead to a start that may be done as early as Tuesday.
Airspace restrictions also apply in the Boca Chica area on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Previous restrictions on Friday January 8th, Sunday January 10th and Monday January 11th have been lifted.
SpaceX has tested and iterated its Starship design for the past two years, starting with a number of Hops at low altitude"The first successful flight at any significant altitude was last month when the SN8 reached roughly the same altitude as commercial jets make much of their cruise at.
The milestone was then followed by a fallback to Earth and a new landing maneuver that seemed to successfully align the missile, but unfortunately SN8 came in too quickly and hit a spectacular and explosive ending.
We might get lucky and see the ordeal of SN8 continuing on Tuesday, but peels and delays have been part of the routine in the Starship development process, so it's just as likely that we'll have to wait until later in the week or even later in the month.
Whenever SN9 flies we will be wearing the video here. Stay tuned.