SpaceX has been hard at work trying to get the raptor engine ready for a launch.
It's not easy, as you might imagine.
They're one of a few companies that keep the vision of sending people to Mars, after all.
And that takes money, time and effort.
While the Raptor engine itself is not perfected, the concept behind building it does make sense
and has already been proven in the past.
But do you know about the latest update regarding the raptor 2?
Stay tuned in to the video as we will tell you about the huge update of raptor 2 and
also why Spacex is producing these engines so fast.
Musk is very well known for his mind-blowing experiments and achievements.
He founded PayPal, spearheaded the electric vehicle market with Tesla and became the world's
largest EV manufacturer, and practically created his own private space industry with SpaceX.
However, you might not have heard of his latest monumental achievement.
There is a brand new rocket engine hidden away in a Texan hanger that will take us to
Mars, help us explore the moon, and even take over the aviation industry.
Let’s look into all these things as we move forward in this video.
We all are aware of the fact that Musk is very determined on colonizing Mars.
Taking the role of chief engineer he is leading the Starship development at the sandy Boca
Chica Village in South Texas.
A few weeks back, Musk shared a photo of the fleet of Raptor engines inside a hangar at
the Starbase rocket factory.
“Raptor 2 rocket engines at Starbase, each producing over half a million pounds of force,”
Musk captioned the photo via Twitter.
Previously SpaceX used the Raptor 1 engine, but now it is an old design.
Its construction was complex, difficult to manufacture and has a long turn-around between
the launches.
It was able to hit a thrust ceiling of 185 tonnes, but this won’t do a thing as Musk
demands more from an engine for a Mars-bound Starship.
So what to do now?
Well, SpaceX came up with a solution and it is the Raptor 2 engine which is capable of
taking us to Mars and beyond.
This isn’t just an updated version of the Raptor 1 but it is an entirely new design
from the ground up that is able to outstrip its predecessor in every metric.
Let's take a look at the updated and flawless Raptor engine.
The Raptor 2 is going to be the most powerful combustion rocket engine ever flown.
It has been modified over the years.
The newest one is the methane-fueled engine known as Version 2 (V2).
In comparison to the first version (V1), it is a complete redesign that features less
complex turbomachinery but it yields more power because it can take in more fuel.
The engineers at SpaceX have reworked the nozzle, combustion chamber and electronics
to enhance the engine’s efficiency.
The company says it features “More Power, Less Parts”.
Raptor 2 also helps to reduce the number of components that comprise the engine, making
it more compact and easy to make than the Raptor 1.
Also, the cost of manufacturing Raptor 2 is half of the first one which makes it cost-effective
for large-scale production.
Raptor 2 however has many things in common with its predecessors and also looks very
similar.
But Musk has repeatedly stated that the engine represents a major evolution from the past
Raptors.
After improving the Raptor’s reliability, simplicity, and cost, SpaceX has also managed
to boost its maximum thrust by almost 25%.
Raptor 2 engines now operate at record-breaking main combustion chamber pressures of 300+
bar and are able to produce up to 230 tons of thrust at sea level.
The older Raptor engine could only produce a thrust of 185 tons at 250 bar.
According to the latest reports, SpaceX has begun installing new Raptor 2 engines on the
Super Heavy Booster 7 after the prototype completed a range of tests and returned to
the company’s South Texas ‘Starbase’ rocket factory.
We can say that day by day we are getting closer to the Starship mission and soon we
will see it happening.
After seeing the improvement of the Raptor 2 engine and that too in such a short amount
of time, one question must have come to your mind, how is SpaceX able to produce these
engines so fast?
Well, if you are a Musk follower then you might remember that earlier this year, Musk
shared that SpaceX has achieved an increased rate of production of their Raptor 2 engine,
which is rapidly advancing the launch vehicles’ development.
The production rate of Raptor 2 reached 5 per week in February and then 7 per week in
the month of March.
But we all know Musk won’t be satisfied by this.
He expects SpaceX to manufacture at least one Raptor 2 engine a day.
And he is right because building Starship engines quickly is the crucial, long-term,
fast production rate that will enable SpaceX to conduct frequent spaceflights to make life
multi-planetary.
Musk also shared a photo which showed a fleet of Raptor 2 engines that are going to be installed
in the test vehicles for their first orbital flight this year.
In April Musk said that the engineers at Starbase would begin installing 33 Raptor engines to
the rocket booster to begin pre-flight tests.
These updates in the Raptor 2 engine will change the way we thought it will work.
Thanks to the efforts of the engineers who made the Raptor 2’s turnaround so quick
that a small fleet of Raptor 2, equipped Starships can be launched several times a week.
This means that SpaceX would be able to launch more payloads into space in just one year
than the US has done in its entire history.
Amazing isn’t it?
Well, that’s what Musk likes to do.
Also, this huge increase in annual payload capacity is what will enable SpaceX to colonize
Mars.
Musk has estimated that a total of 1 million tonne payload is needed to set up a self-sustaining
Mars colony.
And according to the calculations, Raptor will need just 10 years to deliver this much
payload to Mars.
If Raptor 2 is really as incredible as it seems, why haven't we seen any in action yet?
The answer to this question is very simple, heating.
The combustion chamber of a Raptor 2 is exposed to a lot of heat and that is enough to melt
any material.
So to stop these engines from melting away it requires some serious engineering, like
pumping cryogenic fuel around the engine to cool it.
Although these systems are difficult to tune, the engineers at SpaceX are working hard to
meet these needs.
And we don’t know when this will be, and neither does SpaceX.
However, it seems that SpaceX will use Raptor 1 engines for their first operational Starships.
But Musk knows very well that to achieve his interplanetary ambitions he needs Raptor 2.
While Starship may be SpaceX's biggest leap forward, there’s no doubt that the Raptor
2 is the most significant icon.
This engine is powerful, lightweight, cheap, and reusable enough to propel humanity into
the age of interplanetary travel.
Thus, Musk's mad hatter dreams of living on Mars may actually come true with the Raptor
2.
If you are excited to see the Raptors go high in the sky you might have to wait for a little
while as it is still unclear when SpaceX will perform the debut orbital Starship flight
test that will demonstrate the Raptor 2 engine’s power.
The company has also not yet received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA).
The FAA has been conducting an environmental review of the Starbase launch facility for
around 10 months now.
Nevertheless, let's keep our fingers crossed that all these efforts will be successful.
But apart from our views what do you think about this newly updated Raptor 2 engine?
Do you think the previous one was better?
You can also take a look at how SpaceX has just revealed the nakedness of the super-heavy
booster, which will have several propellant pipes connected to 33 raptor engines, just
click on the video, it will blow your mind.