The SpaceX Raptor engine has set a new record for the highest pressure in a record engine.
The Russian RD-180 held the highest record pressure in its combustion chamber for decades. It had a pressure of 261.7 kilograms of power per square centimeter.
SpaceX has now performed six tests of the newest Raptor engine.
SpaceX Raptor specs:
Vacuum Isp: 382 s
Vacuum Thrust: 3.5 MN
Expansion Ratio: 40
Chamber Pressure: 300 bar
Raptor reached 268.9 bar today, exceeding prior record held by the awesome Russian RD-180. Great work by @SpaceX engine/test team! pic.twitter.com/yPrvO0JhyY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2019
Design requires at least 170 metric tons of force. Engine reached 172 mT & 257 bar chamber pressure with warm propellant, which means 10% to 20% more with deep cryo.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2019
I think 6 where we lit main chamber & several with only preburners
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2019
About 11 secs
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2019
Propellant was not deep cryo. CH4 & O2 were just barely below liquid temp at 1 bar. In theory, Raptor should do ~300 bar at deep cryo, provided everything holds together, which is far from certain. However, only 250 bar is needed for nominal operation of Starship/Super Heavy.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2019
SOURCES- Twitter, SpaceX, Elon Musk
Written By Brian Wang. Nextbigfuture.com
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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