The recent test, which occurred at 8:56 p.m. EDT and lasted less than a minute, was dubbed a success on Wednesday by SpaceX founder Elon Musk on Twitter. "Starhopper completed tethered hop. All systems green," he tweeted.
With details on the project few and far between, Space.com reported that the prototype was fitted with three new Raptor liquid methane and liquid oxygen engines, of which only one was fired during the recent test. It also noted that Starhopper did manage to briefly lift from the launchpad, but that it failed to go far on account of it being securely tethered to the ground.
SpaceX plans to make its first cargo flights with the Starship vehicle by 2022, with the vehicle expected to begin passenger flights to the moon in 2023, TechCrunch reported. Crewed flights to the Red Planet are slated for 2024.