SpaceX Raptor
SpaceX family of liquid-fuel rocket engines / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Raptor is a family of rocket engines developed and manufactured by SpaceX. The engine is a full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) engine powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen ("methalox").
Country of origin | United States |
---|---|
Manufacturer | SpaceX |
Status | Currently in use |
Liquid-fuel engine | |
Propellant | LOX / CH4 |
Mixture ratio | 3.6 (78% O2, 22% CH4)[1][2] |
Cycle | Full-flow staged combustion |
Pumps | 2 turbopumps |
Configuration | |
Chamber | 1 |
Nozzle ratio | |
Performance | |
Thrust | Raptor 1: 185 tf (1.81 MN; 408,000 lbf)[5] Raptor 2: Raptor 3: 269 tf (2.64 MN; 593,000 lbf)[8] |
Throttle range | 40–100%[9] |
Thrust-to-weight ratio | 143.8, sea-level |
Chamber pressure |
|
Specific impulse, vacuum | 380 s (3.7 km/s)[11] |
Specific impulse, sea-level | 327 s (3.21 km/s)[10] |
Mass flow | |
Burn time | N/A |
Dimensions | |
Length | 3.1 m (10 ft)[14] |
Diameter | 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)[15] |
Dry weight | 1,600 kg (3,500 lb)[6] |
Used in | |
SpaceX Starship |
SpaceX's Starship system uses Raptor engines in its super-heavy-lift Super Heavy booster and in the Starship spacecraft, which acts as the second stage when launched from Earth and as an independent craft in space.[16] Starship missions include lifting payloads to Earth orbit and is also planned for missions to the Moon and Mars.[17] The engines are being designed for reuse with little maintenance.[18]
Raptor is only the third full-flow staged combustion engine in history and the first rocket engine of that type to power a vehicle in flight.[19]