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Elon Musk Has Revealed the First Firing of a New Starship Rocket Engine

Elon Musk Has Revealed the First Firing of a New Starship Rocket Engine

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DOUNIAMAG-US-SPACE-AEROSPACE-SPACEX-MOON-JAPAN-PEOPLE — Elon Musk speaks near a Falcon 9 rocket at the SpaceX headquarters and rocket factory on Sept. 17, 2018 in Hawthorne, California.David McNew—AFP/Getty Images

February 4, 2019 3:19 AM EST

Elon Musk released footage Sunday revealing the first firing of a new SpaceX flight engine.

The founder of Tesla tweeted photos and video of the new Raptor rocket engine, which is supposed to power a prototype Starship that will take people around the world. One day Musk envisions the rocket will take people to Mars.

First firing of Starship Raptor flight engine! So proud of great work by @SpaceX team!! pic.twitter.com/S6aT7Jih4S
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2019

Preparing to fire the Starship Raptor engine at @SpaceX Texas pic.twitter.com/8JCOi1BG6z
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2019

pic.twitter.com/ChEGbjTGKZ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2019

A prototype version of the Starship, called the Starship Hopper, is being built at a separate SpaceX branch in south Texas, Geekwire reports. Testing for the starship could begin within the next month or two.

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