SpaceX
SpaceX’s first Starship engine suffers “expected” damage during Raptor test fire
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the first full-scale Starship engine to be tested has already been pushed to the point of damage less than three weeks after the campaign began, setting the stage for the second full-scale Raptor to take over in the near future.
According to Musk, while most of the damaged pathfinder Raptor’s components should still be easily reusable, the assembly of the second finalized engine is “almost done” and that Raptor will take over near-term testing rather than waiting for repairs to the first engine. This is undoubtedly an extraordinarily aggressive test program, particularly for such a new and cutting-edge rocket propulsion system, but these latest developments are ultimately far more encouraging than they are concerning.
Merlins. The max chamber pressure run damaged Raptor SN 1 (as expected). A lot of the parts are fine for reuse, but next tests will be with SN 2, which is almost done.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2019
Although the Raptor engine family began integrated subscale static fires way back in September 2016, SpaceX’s propulsion team finalized Raptor’s baseline design and completed assembly, shipment, and an integrated static fire of the first full-scale engine on February 3rd, considerably less than three weeks before Musk took to Twitter. Aside from confirming that the new Raptor had been damaged during its most recent static fire several days prior, Musk indicated that the failure (unsurprisingly) was primarily attributed to the engine reaching the highest chamber pressures yet.
Raptor’s main combustion chamber (the bit directly above the nozzle) has been designed to nominally operate at and reliably withstand extraordinary pressures of 250+ bar (3600+ psi), performance that demands even higher pressures in the components that feed hot methane and oxygen gas into Raptor’s combustion chamber. One prime example hinted at by Musk in a 2018 tweet is its oxygen preburner, used to convert liquid propellant into a high-velocity gas that can then feed a dedicated oxygen turbopump. Aside from the absurdly corrosive environment created by extremely hot gaseous oxygen, the preburner must also survive pressures that could peak as high as 800+ bar, or 12,000 psi.
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- SpaceX’s world-class rocket propulsion team has been progressing through early full-scale Raptor tests at an incredible speed. (SpaceX)
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- Full-scale Raptor’s first static fire test, February 3rd. (SpaceX)
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- Raptor’s business end with a Musk-for-scale. (Elon Musk)
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- Starship revealed a trio of Raptor mockups when SpaceX technicians moved the assembly from stand to ground. (NSF – bocachicagal)
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- A September 2018 render of Starship (then BFS) shows one of the vehicle’s two hinged wings/fins/legs. (SpaceX)
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- BFR (2018) breaks through a cloud layer shortly after launch. (SpaceX)
A lack of technical detail means that it’s hard to know what thrust or main chamber pressure Musk had in mind when referring to exotic alloys that would be needed to survive those pressures, but the performance statistics of a Raptor with a preburner operating at 800+ bar would probably outstrip anything Musk has thus far described. In other words, it’s safe to assume that Raptor has probably not been pushed to those performance levels just yet, although it’s still a distant possibility. More likely is that 800+ bar in the oxygen preburner is an extreme stretch-goal that will take concerted research, development, and optimization to achieve, with Raptor having suffered damage somewhere below those levels while still reaching eye-watering performance figures.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2019
For an engine as complex as Raptor, there are countless dozens of potential failure modes the appearance of which would come as little surprise for an engine just days into full-scale testing. Above all else, the Raptor test schedule held by SpaceX’s world-class propulsion team – be it self-motivated or driven by reckless management-by-spreadsheet – has been fast-paced in the extreme, taking the first high-performance Raptor ever built from standstill to more than 90% thrust and chamber pressures of almost 270 bar (3900 psi) in – quite literally – less than one week. In the same period of time, more than half a dozen static fire tests (ranging from 1-10 seconds) were performed.
Within a few days of that February 10th milestone, in which Raptor reached chamber pressures comparable with the most advanced modern engines (namely RD-180/190/191), the engine was apparently pushed dramatically higher still, reaching a chamber pressure (and thus thrust) that wrought damage on some of the more sensitive parts of the engine’s plumbing. Despite the fact that the second production Raptor is apparently already “almost done”, Musk suggested that it would already feature changes (of unknown gravity) to mitigate the failure modes experienced by Raptor SN01.
SN2 has changes that should help
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2019
In an industry where NASA and contractors like Aerojet-Rocketdyne will spend months between static fire tests of Space Shuttle engines that have each literally flown multiple (if not) dozens of missions to orbit and have a demonstrated performance and reliability record that is measured in the hundreds of thousands of seconds, the speed and agility of SpaceX’s Raptor development and test program is breathtaking. What remains to be seen is just how comparably reliable and successful the end results (i.e. operational Raptor) will be, but an attitude that actively accepts and even pursues testing to destruction can ultimately only serve to benefit the finished product at the cost of destroyed hardware and many on-ground lessons learned the hard ways.
Given the immense success of SpaceX’s Merlin family of engines and the aggressive strategy of development and continuous improvement that brought it from Merlin 1A to 1D and MVacD, SpaceX is clearly not fumbling around in the dark when it comes to Raptor R&D.
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk gives nod to SpaceX’s massive, previously impossible feat
It was the booster’s 30th flight, a scenario that seemed impossible before SpaceX became a dominant force in spaceflight.
Elon Musk gave a nod to one of SpaceX’s most underrated feats today. Following the successful launch of the Transporter-15 mission, SpaceX seamlessly landed another Falcon 9 booster on a droneship in the middle of the ocean.
It was the booster’s 30th flight, a scenario that seemed impossible before SpaceX became a dominant force in spaceflight.
Elon Musk celebrates a veteran Falcon 9 booster’s feat
SpaceX completed another major milestone for its Smallsat Rideshare program on Friday, successfully launching and deploying 140 spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission, known as Transporter-15, lifted off two days later than planned after a scrub attributed to a ground systems issue, according to SpaceFlight Now. SpaceX confirmed that all payloads designed to separate from the rocket were deployed as planned.
The Falcon 9 used for this flight was booster B1071, one of SpaceX’s most heavily flown rockets. With its 30th mission completed, it becomes the second booster in SpaceX’s fleet to reach that milestone. B1071’s manifest includes five National Reconnaissance Office missions, NASA’s SWOT satellite, and several previous rideshare deployments, among others. Elon Musk celebrated the milestone on X, writing “30 flights of the same rocket!” in his post.
Skeptics once dismissed reusability as unfeasible
While rocket landings are routine for SpaceX today, that was not always the case. Industry veterans previously questioned whether reusable rockets could ever achieve meaningful cost savings or operational reliability, often citing the Space Shuttle’s partial reusability as evidence of failure.
In 2016, Orbital ATK’s Ben Goldberg argued during a panel that even if rockets could be reusable, they do not make a lot of sense. He took issue with Elon Musk’s claims at the time, Ars Technica reported, particularly when the SpaceX founder stated that fuel costs account for just a fraction of launch costs.
Goldberg noted that at most, studies showed only a 30% cost reduction for low-Earth orbit missions by using a reusable rocket. “You’re not going to get 100-fold. These numbers aren’t going to change by an order of magnitude. They’re just not. That’s the state of where we are today,” he said.
Former NASA official Dan Dumbacher, who oversaw the Space Launch System, expressed similar doubts in 2014, implying that if NASA couldn’t make full reusability viable, private firms like SpaceX faced steep odds.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s Starship program is already bouncing back from Booster 18 fiasco
Just over a week since Booster 18 met its untimely end, SpaceX is now busy stacking Booster 19, and at a very rapid pace, too.
SpaceX is already bouncing back from the fiasco that it experienced during Starship Booster 18’s initial tests earlier this month.
Just over a week since Booster 18 met its untimely end, SpaceX is now busy stacking Booster 19, and at a very rapid pace, too.
Starship V3 Booster 19 is rising
As per Starbase watchers on X, SpaceX rolled out the fourth aft section of Booster 19 to Starbase’s MegaBay this weekend, stacking it to reach 15 rings tall with just a few sections remaining. This marks the fastest booster assembly to date at four sections in five days. This is quite impressive, and it bodes well for SpaceX’s Starship V3 program, which is expected to be a notable step up from the V2 program, which was retired after a flawless Flight 11.
Starship watcher TankWatchers noted the tempo on X, stating, “During the night the A4 section of Booster 19 rolled out to the MegaBay. With 4 sections in just 5 days, this is shaping up to be the fastest booster stack ever.” Fellow Starbase watcher TestFlight echoed the same sentiments. “Booster 19 is now 15 rings tall, with 3 aft sections remaining!” the space enthusiast wrote.
Aggressive targets despite Booster 18 fiasco
SpaceX’s V3 program encountered a speed bump earlier this month when Booster 18, just one day after rolling out into the factory, experienced a major anomaly during gas system pressure testing at SpaceX’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas. While no propellant was loaded, no engines were installed, and no one was injured in the incident, the unexpected end of Booster 18 sparked speculation that the Starship V3 program could face delays.
Despite the Booster 18 fiasco, however, SpaceX announced that “Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026.” Elon Musk shared a similar timeline on X earlier this year, with the CEO stating that “ V3 is a massive upgrade from the current V2 and should be through production and testing by end of year, with heavy flight activity next year.”
Considering that Booster 19 seems to be moving through its production phases quickly, perhaps SpaceX’s Q1 2026 target for Flight 12 might indeed be more than feasible.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk shares SpaceX’s directive that destroys a prevalent media narrative
Musk’s comments followed Starlink’s initiatives for people affected by severe flooding in Indonesia and Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka.
Elon Musk recently shared SpaceX’s standing policy to offer free Starlink service during natural disasters worldwide, highlighting the company’s commitment to pursue aid over profit during times of need.
Musk’s comments followed Starlink’s initiatives for people affected by severe flooding in Indonesia and Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka.
Starlink activates free service in Indonesia and Sri Lanka
Starlink recently announced free service for those impacted by severe flooding in Indonesia’s Sumatra region, partnering with the government to deploy terminals rapidly to the hardest-hit areas. The offer extends to new and existing customers through December, restoring connectivity in zones where traditional networks have failed due to infrastructure damage.
Musk quoted the post on X, writing, “SpaceX standard policy is to make Starlink free whenever there is a natural disaster somewhere in the world. It would not be right to profit from misfortune.”
Starlink extended the same relief to Sri Lanka amid Cyclone Ditwah, coordinating with local authorities for additional support. The cyclone battered the island nation with heavy rains and winds, disrupting communications for thousands. Free access also lasts until year-end, emphasizing Starlink’s role in bridging gaps during crises.
“For those affected by the severe flooding in Indonesia and Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, Starlink is providing free service to new and existing customers through the end of December 2025. We’re also working with the Indonesian government to rapidly deploy terminals and restore connectivity to the hardest-hit areas on Sumatra, as well as with the Sri Lankan government to provide additional assistance,” Starlink wrote in a post on its official website.
Musk’s companies routinely provide aid
Musk’s firms have a track record of providing critical support in crises, often without fanfare, challenging portrayals of him as a comic book villain intent on enriching himself on the backs of a suffering populace. In January 2024 alone, Tesla opened Superchargers for free in Japan’s Hokuriku region after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake killed at least 55 and injured hundreds.
Similar efforts include Starlink deployments for the 2023 Maui wildfires, 2024 Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, and floods in Texas, where the service was used to help facilitate emergency coordination. These actions, which total millions in waived fees and logistics, demonstrate a proactive ethos among Musk’s companies, with Musk noting in past interviews that such aid stems from engineering solutions over optics.
The initiatives also provide a direct rebuttal of Musk’s characterization on mainstream media, which tends to lean negatively. This has become much more notable in recent years as Musk adopted more conservative policies. These negative sentiments came to a head earlier this year when Tesla stores, vehicles, and even some owners, were attacked during waves of anti-Tesla protests.
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