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2015 from the posting on Youtube. They mention Raptor, so it can't be too long ago.
Raptor (rocket engine family) - Wikipedia
In January 2016, the US Air Force awarded a US$33.6 million development contract to SpaceX to develop a prototype version of its methane-fueled reusable Raptor engine for use on the upper stage of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, which required double-matching funding by SpaceX of at least US$67.3 million. Work under the contract is expected to be completed in 2018, with engine performance testing to be done at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
SpaceX aims to follow a banner year with an even faster 2018 launch cadence - SpaceNews.com
Block 5 engines will reach 190,000 pound-force (lbf) of thrust at sea level, up from the current Merlin 1D’s 176,000 lbf at sea level. A Block 5 engine that experienced a test mishap Nov. 4 didn’t explode, she said, but did result in a fire. She said SpaceX is still working on the investigation.
SpaceX has hinted at the possibility of Raptor engines debuting on the Falcon 9, but Shotwell said that is now less likely as the company freezes the Falcon 9 design.
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Wikipedia tells Raptor test engine had 1 MN thrust. Slightly more than Merlin 5. I don't think this is a coincidence.
In January 2016, the US Air Force awarded a US$33.6 million development contract to SpaceX to develop a prototype version of its methane-fueled reusable Raptor engine for use on the upper stage of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, which required double-matching funding by SpaceX of at least US$67.3 million. Work under the contract is expected to be completed in 2018, with engine performance testing to be done at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
SpaceX aims to follow a banner year with an even faster 2018 launch cadence - SpaceNews.com
Block 5 engines will reach 190,000 pound-force (lbf) of thrust at sea level, up from the current Merlin 1D’s 176,000 lbf at sea level. A Block 5 engine that experienced a test mishap Nov. 4 didn’t explode, she said, but did result in a fire. She said SpaceX is still working on the investigation.
SpaceX has hinted at the possibility of Raptor engines debuting on the Falcon 9, but Shotwell said that is now less likely as the company freezes the Falcon 9 design.
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Wikipedia tells Raptor test engine had 1 MN thrust. Slightly more than Merlin 5. I don't think this is a coincidence.
Not much real news has come out about Raptor. We know they either have or about to have the official production sized Raptor at McGregor for testing. According to everything we know, SpaceX has tested the hell out of the smaller sized testing version. I expect those tests determined the design needed for the production version. We got our first news on Raptor in a while from an Elon tweet. So here is an entire article built around that tweet:
SpaceX: Elon Musk Reveals How Mars-Bound Raptor Engine Tests are Going | Inverse
Tweet:
Twitter
SpaceX: Elon Musk Reveals How Mars-Bound Raptor Engine Tests are Going | Inverse
Tweet:
Heh. Elon tweets “Good progress” and a website creates a page for a few hundred words of speculation.
Newest Raptor engine news. First official Raptor engine ready for testing.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals photos of Starship's first completed Raptor engine
Elon: Initially making one 200 metric ton thrust engine common across ship & booster to reach the moon as fast as possible. Next versions will split to vacuum-optimized (380+ sec Isp) & sea-level thrust optimized (~250 ton).
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals photos of Starship's first completed Raptor engine
Elon: Initially making one 200 metric ton thrust engine common across ship & booster to reach the moon as fast as possible. Next versions will split to vacuum-optimized (380+ sec Isp) & sea-level thrust optimized (~250 ton).
Does anyone know what all needs to be changed besides the bell, to accommodate the different bell size?
My thought on seeing Elon's tweet was how much add'l engineering time and effort would it take to split to the two variants now?
If they did the sea level version now for hopper, they'd have a year or more before needing the vacuum optimized engine.
e-FTW
New electron smell
It looks like he was signing that engine...You can get some insight by comparing Merlin 1D and vac. versions:
View attachment 374152
Elon Musk:
"At @SpaceX Texas with engineering team getting ready to fire new Raptor rocket engine "
e-FTW
New electron smell
Not until I learn how Starship gets away from SuperHeavy if it RUDs at MaxQ. And see it tested when SpaceX is sure enough of that hardware to risk a Starship in a live test!
Love it! Some screen captures from the videos SpaceX posted. Article by Eric Berger Forget the Super Bowl, SpaceX just fired its Mars rocket engine
The Mach Diamonds are visible in this image.
The Mach Diamonds are visible in this image.
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I’m sure SpaceX has a plan for that eventuality with Starship. But I don’t expect them to sacrifice a Super Heavy booster to test it. Too costly. Unless they can find an organization, like the US government, to pay for that test.
As I understand it, NASA is paying for SpaceX to test the scenario you describe, it will be the Crew Dragon in-flight abort mission which is currently NET May 2019.
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