3 ms·
Raptor is a breakthrough engine. If NASA with nation state resources and 23B is 6 years late, let’s cut SpaceX some slack for building a profitable launch busin
by kiratp 4y ago
Raptor is a breakthrough engine. If NASA with nation state resources and 23B is 6 years late, let’s cut SpaceX some slack for building a profitable launch business with multiple successful vehicles while also being very close with Starship.
> As of 2019, only three full-flow staged combustion rocket engines had ever progressed sufficiently to be tested on test stands; the Soviet Energomash RD-270 project in the 1960s, the US government-funded Aerojet Rocketdyne Integrated powerhead demonstration project in the mid-2000s,[6] and SpaceX's flight capable Raptor engine first test-fired in February 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staged_combustion_cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staged_combustion_cycle
If you want to learn more
https://youtu.be/LbH1ZDImaI8 https://youtu.be/LbH1ZDImaI8
- HWR_14 4y agoI don't see how the breakthroughness of the Raptor engine is relevant. It's one of the reasons that Starship is cheaper to launch. If you want to say "without that, Starship would be operational" you also have to say "without that, Starship would be more expensive"