SpaceX has successfully launched its massive Starship rocket eight times and caught its Super Heavy booster three times using the giant mechanical arms of Mechazilla. The company recently shared a post revealing that it was preparing to launch a pre-flown Super Heavy Booster, which had previously flown on January 16th. This booster is now ready for its next steps towards achieving launch, landing, and reuse.
The designated Booster 14 has undergone a static fire test, marking the first time a pre-flown Super Heavy Booster has been tested in this way. If it flies again during Starship’s upcoming test flight, it will be the first instance of a reused booster to launch successfully.
In contrast, SpaceX’s upper stage, known as Ship, has struggled with back-to-back glitches during its last two test flights. The rocket suffered an engine failure and broke apart during flight 7 in January, followed by another major failure on flight 8, which caused it to spin uncontrollably before breaking apart.
The Super Heavy booster is making progress towards becoming reusable, while the upper stage still needs improvement. SpaceX aims for both components to be caught mid-air by Mechazilla and land successfully, a process known as horizontal landing.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/spacex-preps-first-reused-super-heavy-booster-for-starships-next-launch-2000585355