SpaceX has apparently taken a major step in the direction of the development of a main part of its Mars mission architecture. Multiple reports suggested that during the Small Satellite Conference on Tuesday in Logan, Utah, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said that the company has shifted a Raptor engine to the test site in McGregor, Texas. A spokesman gave confirmation that the engine has really been moved to Texas for developmental tests.

The Raptor is the private space company’s next generation of rocket engine, and could be around three times stronger than the Merlin engines powering its Falcon 9 rocket. Furthermore, it will be used in the Falcon Heavy rocket that could fly in the end of this year or early next year. The Raptor is going to power the company’s next generation of rocket following the Falcon Heavy, the so-called Mars Colonial Transporter.

Though official information about the Raptor engine is limited, SpaceX founder Elon Musk suggested that the engine is going to possess a thrust of nearly 500,000 pounds, about the same power as that of the main engines of a space shuttle. Whereas three major engines and two booster rockets power the shuttle, however it is said that the huge rocket SpaceX would use for Mars colonization would probably be powered by a group of nine Raptor engines.

Musk has often mentioned that he started SpaceX to make a human colony on the Red Planet, starting with crewed missions in the 2020s. However, the company in 2016 has started displaying some tangible growth in the direction of that goal.

Previously in April, the company shared plans to fire an unmanned Dragon spacecraft to the Red Planet as early as 2018, and has showcased the supersonic retropropulsion technology required for landing there.

Furthermore, Musk mentioned that he will reveal more information about how SpaceX is planning to colonize the Red Planet during the International Astronautical Conference 2016, to be held between September 26 and September 30 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

According to a report in Spaceflight Insider by Derek Richardson, "The static fire test is done to ensure that everything is working properly in advance of the launch. It involves a full countdown and fueling of the rocket. When the engines ignite, the fire a short burst – usually around three seconds – before the flight computer automatically commands an abort. SpaceX engineers will pore over the data in the coming days to ensure that all is well on the booster."

Because this mission will utilize a high-energy trajectory to sling the payload into orbit, instead of returning to the launch area, the first stage of the Falcon 9 will attempt a landing downrange at sea on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship called Of Course I Still Love You. SpaceX has successfully recovered three boosters on similar trajectories. The first happened to be during May’s JCSAT-14 mission. To date, the company has landed a total of five rockets – two on land and three at sea.

This weekend’s launch will be the eight launch of the year for SpaceX in what will be a record year for the company in terms of launches to orbit. If the schedule holds, at least eight more Falcon 9 flights will occur. At least one, possibly two, of those boosters will have been previously flown. Which flight that occurs on is still unknown.

A report published in Spaceflight Now informed, "The views were recorded by high-speed cameras at Cape Canaveral and edited into a video accompanied by music. The imagery sequence begins with zoomed-in views of a Falcon 9 rocket’s nine Merlin engines firing just before liftoff, followed by a tight shot of the rocket climbing away from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad."

A tracking camera then captured the dramatic collision of the Falcon 9’s first stage and second stage engine plumes high in the stratosphere as the booster started its descent back to Florida. Three of the first stage’s nine Merlin engines ignited to boost the rocket back toward Cape Canaveral, as the single powerplant on the Falcon 9 second stage fired to continue pushing into orbit.

SpaceX’s video ends with views of the Falcon 9 booster stage’s supersonic re-entry burn, followed by a spectacular look at the first stage’s center engine during its last-minute landing burn to brake for touchdown.