For the first time, a Starship prototype roars to life with three engines

SN8 test. Static fire occurs at 2 hours, 27 minutes.

SpaceX engineers achieved another milestone early Tuesday morning when the company's Starship vehicle roared to life for the first time with multiple Raptor engines.

At 3:13am local time in South Texas, a Starship prototype dubbed SN8, or Serial Number 8, fired three Raptor engines for several seconds during a static fire test. Although there was no immediate confirmation from the company, the test at the company's Boca Chica launch site appeared to be successful.

This was an important step toward preparing SN8 for a 15km test flight later this month, or in early November. Even as one team prepared to ignite the rocket during the wee hours on Tuesday-which tested its plumbing to handle chilled liquid oxygen and methane fuels, and the recent installation of three Raptor engines-another team assembled the nose cone that will go on top of SN8 in preparation for its flight.

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