Elon Musk has announced the first successful firing of SpaceX’s new Raptor 3 rocket engine. He shared the news on Twitter, posting images of the engine in action. Musk mentioned that the parts appearing white in the photos are actually black but covered in ice.
Space X shared the details of Rapotor 3 on Instagram, They captioned,
“Raptor 3 is designed for rapid reuse, eliminating the need for engine heatshields while continuing to increase performance and manufacturability”
“Raptor 3 first firing today” Musk first tweeted,
“The parts that appear white are actually black, but covered in ice” Musk also shared,
People on x (former Twitter) reacted positively to Elon Musk’s Raptor 3 news. Here are some reactions:
“Congratulations to your team. This is a great achievement on what looks like a simpler design.” one person said.
“Maybe you guys can go get those astronauts since nobody else seems capable,” one follower said, referring to Sunita William’s news of being stranded in Space.
Elon Musk’s Raptor 3 engine is an upgraded version of previous Raptor Models
The Raptor 3 engine is an upgraded version of SpaceX’s earlier Raptor engines, Raptor 1 and Raptor 2. It was developed to improve performance, efficiency, and reusability. SpaceX has so far revealed only the sea-level variant of the Raptor 3 engine.
Elon Musk explained that the Raptor 3 engine has a simpler design and no need for a heat shield. This is due to improvements in cooling and design, making the engine lighter and more powerful. The Raptor 3 engine produces 280 tons of thrust, which is 50 tons more than the Raptor 2 and 95 tons more than the Raptor 1.
The new engine design reduces manufacturing complexity, speeding up production. This will help SpaceX increase the frequency of their space missions. The first Raptor 3 engine, known as SN1, has been shown to the public, with more prototypes likely being tested.
The successful firing of the Raptor 3 engine marks a significant step in SpaceX’s journey to make space travel more efficient.