I am sad to see it go. The first time we went to the Test site we were told to meet Joe Allen under the tripod. Iconic.
Me too. It’s such a big part of our history. Although I personally do not miss installing instrumentation on the top of the S1 lox dome as the vehicle swayed back and forth!
Nerd Dashboards@NerdDashboardsAutomatedMcGregor - Weekly Update:There were 41 tests over this past week.6 different stands fired for a total of 776 seconds.Powered by @NASASpaceFlight's McGregor Live
NSF's Gary Blair flew past SpaceX's McGregor test site and spotted a Raptor 3 on one of the test stands.Raptor 3 is expected to be the engine of choice for Starship later in 2025.McGregor is the most active rocket engine test site in the world.
With 2024 being a record breaking year for SpaceX across its 4 launch sites, it was also a record year of testing at their McGregor Tx site with 1764 tests recorded by @NASASpaceflight McGregor Live team with 2025 expected to be even busier follow along athttps://nsf.live/mcgregor
Some figures for 2024:- October busiest with 189 tests, average 147 tests- Longest Duration 897 Secs (Raptor Tripod)- Average Duration 90 Secs- Testing Breakdown: 7 Falcon 1st Stage, 138 Falcon 2nd Stage, 274 Merlin, 155 Merlin Vacuum, 3 Super Draco, and 1187 Raptor (2&3)
McGregor kept busy until the very end, with 4 additional tests (1 Merlin, 1 Merlin Vacuum, and 2 Raptor tests) bringing the annual total to 1768 tests
QuoteSome figures for 2024:- October busiest with 189 tests, average 147 tests- Longest Duration 897 Secs (Raptor Tripod)- Average Duration 90 Secs- Testing Breakdown: 7 Falcon 1st Stage, 138 Falcon 2nd Stage, 274 Merlin, 155 Merlin Vacuum, 3 Super Draco, and 1187 Raptor (2&3)https://twitter.com/enneps/status/1874438479192723484QuoteMcGregor kept busy until the very end, with 4 additional tests (1 Merlin, 1 Merlin Vacuum, and 2 Raptor tests) bringing the annual total to 1768 tests
NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.comThe NEW Raptor vertical south stand fired up for the very first time! Equipped with 2 bays, that brings the total to 6 functional Raptor bays currently and 8 when the new north stand comes online soon.nsf.live/mcgregor
It's delivery day at the SpaceX McGregor Test Site, as a brand new Falcon 9 Booster was delivered and lifted onto the test stand for its testing campagin ahead of it entering service on future launches.Follow all the testing action on @nasaspaceflight.com McGregor Live nsf.live/mcgregor
Here is a graph of all of the Raptor Horizontal tests in the past 4 months!
New record!McGregor's Raptor Horizontal stand has beaten its record of 385 seconds with a test today lasting 460 seconds!This isn't a McGregor test record (that's held by Tripod's 897 second test) but it's a dominant second place.@NASASpaceflighthttp://nsf.live/mcgregor
While all the space enthusiasts were glued to Starship, McGregor kept plugging away as a new booster (most likely B1096) arrived and was quickly raised for testing. Welcome to the fleet!
After completing 2 cryos and being removed from the stand once (possibly due to some issues), B1096 has performed a Static FireAs usual, it's first assignment is not currently known, however it will now head down to either Cape or Vandenberg to flyFrom NSF McGregor Live
B1096 rolled back towards the Hangar at McGregor under the cover of dark following testingFrom NSF McGregor Live
After completing a cryo test during the night, this booster has now performed a static fireThis should conclude the boosters testing campaign, it will now head off to be prepared for it's first launchFrom NSF McGregor Live
Thomas Hayden@_thomashayden·Five Falcon 9 Stage 2's in five days!Just 3 days, 22 hours, 26 minutes, and 31 seconds from the first to fifth test, highlighting what the McGregor teams are capable of. Typically they test one every two days.Watch live: http://nsf.live/mcgregor@NASASpaceflight
NSF - NASASpaceflight.com@NASASpaceflightChecking in with SpaceX McGregor.Recent updates reveal intensified Raptor engine trials and the construction of a large-scale rig, the latter having ignited speculation about its potential ties to Starship's Human Landing System (HLS) for NASA's Artemis program.
Reagan Beck@bluemoondance74SpaceX - McGregor, TX09/03/25The new stand on the west side
Reagan Beck@bluemoondance74Last night at @SpaceX McGregor
Reagan Beck@bluemoondance74SpaceX - McGregor, TX09/03/25 (MVac and M1D test stands)
Reagan Beck@bluemoondance74SpaceX - McGregor, TX09/03/25 🔥🚀🔥(Tripod, the retired vertical Raptor stand; view of south side; Second Stage w/ MVac test stand)
D Wise@dwisecinemaA trip to McGregor means some slowmo footage! This Falcon 9 second stage was fired shortly after sunset tonight. After the firing, a TEA-TEB burnoff was also clearly visible. Always cool to see testing in person!📸 @NASASpaceflight
Rhin0@SpaceRhin0·McGregor + Drone = 🤯
NSF - NASASpaceflight.com@NASASpaceflight·What a treat! SpaceX fires up a sea level Merlin at the Small Site at McGregor. Filmed by Jack Beyer @thejackbeyer (UAS pilot working within rules: https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1966571448358609042).
