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SpaceX Raptor
SpaceX family of liquid-fuel rocket engines / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raptor is a family of rocket engines developed and manufactured by SpaceX. A notable trait of this engine family is the use of a full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC). They are powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen, a mixture known as methalox.
![]() A Raptor 1 rocket engine ready for transport outside SpaceX's factory in Hawthorne, California | |
Country of origin | ![]() |
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Manufacturer | SpaceX |
Associated LV | SpaceX Starship |
Status | In production |
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: 280 tf (2.75 MN; 617,000 lbf) |
Throttle range | 40–100%[8] |
Thrust-to-weight ratio | Raptor 1: 88.94
Raptor 2: 141.1 Raptor 3: 183.6 |
Chamber pressure |
|
Specific impulse, vacuum | 380 s (3.7 km/s)[9] |
Specific impulse, sea-level | 327 s (3.21 km/s)[10] |
Mass flow | |
Burn time | Varies |
Dimensions | |
Length | 3.1 m (10 ft)[13] |
Diameter | 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)[14] |
Dry mass | Raptor 1: 2,080 kg (4,590 lb)
Raptor 2: 1,630 kg (3,590 lb) Raptor 3: 1,525 kg (3,362 lb) |
SpaceX's super-heavy-lift Starship uses Raptor engines in its Super Heavy booster and in the Starship second stage.[15] Starship missions include lifting payloads to Earth orbit and is also planned for missions to the Moon and Mars.[16] The engines are being designed for reuse with little maintenance.[17]
Raptor is the third full-flow staged combustion engine in history and the first such rocket engine to power a vehicle in flight.[18]