SpaceX attempts ignition of 33 engines for Starship booster

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- SpaceX attempted to fire all 33 engines for Booster 7, a prototype for Starship's Super Heavy rocket, successfully igniting 31 of the Raptor engines during the test Thursday.

"Team turned off one engine just before start and one stopped itself, so 31 engines fired overall," Elon Musk, the SpaceX founder, said in a statement on Twitter after the test was completed. "But still enough engines to reach orbit!"

Musk added in another tweet: "One day, Starship will take us to Mars."

The test, conducted at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas, marked a significant step forward for the company's Starship program ahead of the long-awaited orbital flight test -- which is expected within the next month.

The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet granted SpaceX a license for that test flight.

Starship, the collective name for the spacecraft and its Super Heavy rocket, are expected to become "the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed," according to the company. Both the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket are designed to be fully reusable.

The static fire of the engines, which was intended to include all 33 engines, began at 4:13 p.m. EST and lasted for about seven seconds. The test was conducted without Ship 24, the name of the prototype for the Starship spacecraft.

SpaceX previously tested 14 of its 33 engines in November.