All Questions
Tagged with spacex-starshipraptor
14 questions
7votes
2answers
857views
Does methalox fuel have a coking problem at all?
Methane was chosen for SpaceX Raptor because it has less coking problem that kerosene. But does it completely eliminate it? If not, how much less severe is it? I googled 'thermal decomposition of ...
0votes
1answer
203views
SpaceX Raptor Vs Raptor Boost
I'm asking all these questions as one because I don't think they're worth cluttering the site separately for. How much does Raptor Boost weigh compared to normal Raptor? How much more thrust does ...
0votes
1answer
183views
Where are the Raptor Boost engines on Super Heavy?
SpaceX Super Heavy has two types of Raptor, one of them being Raptor Boost, which has no gimbals and limited throttling but increased thrust. But I can't find information on Wikipedia on how many ...
3votes
0answers
273views
What is the cause of soot in the plume of the Raptor engine?
Though the Raptor engine burns quite clean, it was clear from some early test flights that it did produce some visible soot: There have been differing explanations for the exact cause of/source of ...
- 1,140
10votes
4answers
2kviews
How are vacuum optimized engines tested without disintegrating them?
SpaceX recently test fired vacuum optimized raptor engines of starship. Doesn't vacuum optimized engines disintegrate when operated in atmosphere? If yes, what additional modifications are made to the ...
- 3,072
1vote
3answers
156views
Starship and Raptor
All these SN-flights...seems that Raptor and the surrounding system is still in development and is pretty unreliable. So why go through all the trouble of flying until the Raptors are more mature?
3votes
1answer
175views
Could another fuel be used in the SpaceX Starship header tank?
A memory of hexane and water in a separatory funnel brought to mind the issue of helium and LNG in the header tank while the Starship flips and does its powered landing. There was discussion of the ...
- 1,104
6votes
1answer
528views
SpaceX Starship: Could they use the Vacuum engines during landing in case of other engine failure?
With the recent test (and RUD due to single engine relight failure) of SN-9, Musk has stated that what they should've done was light all three raptor engines simultaneously then turn one off so as to ...
- 6,511
1vote
0answers
63views
Any large scale rocket static fires, like SpaceX's 3 in one day?
SpaceX on Jan 13, 2021 did three static fires in one day. Elon Musk tweeted: All three static fires completed & no RUDs! And that was in response to this tweet of his own: Today at SpaceX is ...
- 80.7k
28votes
2answers
3kviews
For the Starship SN8 flight, did they lose engines in flight?
Watching the first (only?) test flight of SN8 we saw them start flying with three Raptor engines firing and then one looked like it flamed out, with lots of fire inside the engine bay. Then later a ...
- 80.7k
5votes
1answer
291views
Issues with multiple raptor engines working in tandem in starship
To get the super heavy starship structure airborne and accelerate vertically, SpaceX is considering using multiple raptor engines. Clustering together huge powerful engines such as Raptor in a ...
- 1,185
4votes
2answers
250views
Were there any experiments that produced rocket fuel grade methane on mars?
One of the main reasons that SpaceX's Starship engine raptor uses methane is because it can theoretically be produced there from atmospheric CO2 and subsurface H2O. Where there any experiments that ...
- 477
5votes
0answers
185views
How much pressure would the raptor engines experience when Starship does an atmosphere entry burn at Mars?
The Starship second stage has 3 sea level engines and 3 vacuum engines. When doing the atmosphere entry burn to mars, how many Bars will the raptor engines experience? I'm thinking that because of the ...
- 477
3votes
1answer
291views
For the Starhopper testing, how will SpaceX hold down the vehicle?
SpaceX is testing the Raptor engine on the Starhopper they built in Boca Chica. For static fires of a Falcon 9/Heavy they use the pad itself, the holddowns to the pad, to keep it from taking off. ...
- 80.7k
