On Wednesday, January 13th, SpaceX launched its SN9 Prototype and its Raptor rocket engines 3 times in the span of four hours. After the first of three tests, Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and lead engineer, tweeted,​ ​“​Today at SpaceX is about practicing Starship engine starts. Ship is held down by massive pins while engines are fired.” After​ all three tests were finished, Musk confirmed that there were no major issues and all 3 tests had passed.

Performing three tests in rapid succession is a major achievement for SpaceX and it leads to the maturing of spaceship hardware, procedures, and ground systems for SpaceX​. ​Musk said the goal is to reach a point where one could “hop in and go” to Mars.​ ​This goal remains years into the future but it is not far fetched and will happen in our future.