SpaceX is done with its first firing test of its Raptor rocket engine, the powerful propulsion engine, the methane-fueled beast that will take humans to Mars at 2024. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a series of Tweets, with images of the tests last night. One of those images showed a steady stream of flame emerging from the engine, and another showed “Mach diamonds,” patterns built in the exhaust plumes of the supersonic ship.
SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine pic.twitter.com/vRleyJvBkx
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2016
Engines are way more powerful than ever
Previously, Musk has indicated that the Raptor engines will be capable of delivering about 500,000 pounds of liftoff thrust, which is pretty similar to the space shuttle’s main engine, and will run on liquid methane instead of kerosene. After last night’s test, he revealed a few extra details, confirming chamber pressure and production goals. He said, “production Raptor goal is a specific impulse of 382 seconds and thrust of 3 MN [680,000 pounds],” which is more than 3 times that of the current Falcon 9.
Road to Mars
The date for SpaceX’s crewed mission towards the red planet is still not fixed, but Musk has reportedly stated his plan to send humans to Mars by 2024. An unmanned craft will launch on Mars by 2018 to drop supplies. After the recent disaster, it seems like an ambitious target.
Tomorrow, Musk is going to give a speech at the International Astronautical Conference, titled “Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species.” We are expecting that this speech will unveil more details about the Mars conquest and the technical details, as well as the budget.
