{"id":22707,"date":"2021-06-29T20:35:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T12:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/first-raptor-vacuum-engine-arrives-at-starbase-first-orbital-starship-launch-still-planned-for-july\/"},"modified":"2021-06-29T20:35:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T12:35:55","slug":"first-raptor-vacuum-engine-arrives-at-starbase-first-orbital-starship-launch-still-planned-for-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/first-raptor-vacuum-engine-arrives-at-starbase-first-orbital-starship-launch-still-planned-for-july\/","title":{"rendered":"First Raptor Vacuum engine arrives at Starbase; First orbital Starship launch still planned for July"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"img-border featured-image wp-block-image--obfuscated\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1600\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=320&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=640&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1024&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1500&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1500w\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-attachment-id=\"15105\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2021\/06\/28\/first-raptor-vacuum-engine-arrives-at-starbase-first-orbital-starship-launch-still-planned-for-july\/img_6407\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png\" data-orig-size=\"5128,2500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"Starbase_Buildsite_Derek\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\n\n<p>Credit: Derek Wise<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1024&#8243;><figcaption>\n\t\t\t\tCredit: Derek Wise\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yesterday the teams at SpaceX\u2019s Starbase Starship facility received the first vacuum-optimized Raptor engine from Hawthorne. This is one of the most important pieces needed for an orbital Starship launch sometime this year.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-15089\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-first-raptor-vacuum-arrives\">First Raptor Vacuum arrives<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yesterday afternoon, a vacuum-optimized Raptor engine was spotted being unloaded from the back of a truck at SpaceX\u2019s Starbase facility. This is the first time we\u2019ve seen one outside of SpaceX\u2019s Headquarters in Hawthorne, California or their test range in McGregor, Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These vacuum Raptors are extremely important since they are needed on a Starship to get into orbit. Three of these engines will be attached around the outside with three sea-level Raptors in the middle. The first few Starship sections with mounting points have been seen around the manufacturing area.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignwide is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=SethKurk&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=e30%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1409368907480113155&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceexplored.com%2F2021%2F06%2F28%2Ffirst-raptor-vacuum-engine-arrives-at-starbase-first-orbital-starship-launch-still-planned-for-july%2F&amp;sessionId=4cbb57a95db03b51f571ba4f41025e804bdabf7a&amp;siteScreenName=space_explored&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=500px\" data-tweet-id=\"1409368907480113155\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783320693700556637=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It is! Looks like we can get 378 sec Isp with this version of Raptor Vacuum, so over 380 sec with some improvements down the road.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2021<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These engines sport a much larger engine bell and are intended to operate more efficiently in the upper atmosphere and space. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared the specific impulse (ISP) for the current vacuum Raptors is at 378 seconds. Specific impulse is similar to a car\u2019s miles per gallon, basically the higher the number the more efficient it is. The Raptor engine as a whole is still in development but both the sea-level and vacuum variants are nearing their operational milestones.<\/p>\n<p>\t<span class=\"outbrain-ad-label\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<script type=\"text\/plain\">\n\t\t\twindow.adSlotsConfig = window.adSlotsConfig || [];<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tadSlotsConfig.push( {\n\t\t\t\tslotID: '\/1049447\/Outbrain',\n\t\t\t\tslotName: 'div-gpt-ad-outbrain-ad-15089',\n\t\t\t\tsizes: [300, 250],\n\t\t\t\tslotPosition: 'mid_article'\n\t\t\t} );\n\t\t<\/script><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-first-orbital-starship-launch-still-expected-for-july\">First orbital Starship launch still expected for July<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the National Space Society\u2019s International Space Development Conference, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said the company is still \u201cshooting for July\u201d for the first Starship orbital flight. The company\u2019s CEO, Elon Musk, is known for pushing time estimates to the extreme, but Shotwell usually seems to be tamer with the expectations. The statement that July is on the table from her means we must be close to it.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe are headed for our first orbital attempt in the not-too-distant future. We\u2019re shooting for July,\u201d she said. \u201cI am hoping we make it, but we all know this is difficult. We are really on the cusp of flying that system, or at least attempting the first orbital flight of that system, in the very near term.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignwide is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 250px; height: 477px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=SethKurk&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=e30%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1409221092548435973&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceexplored.com%2F2021%2F06%2F28%2Ffirst-raptor-vacuum-engine-arrives-at-starbase-first-orbital-starship-launch-still-planned-for-july%2F&amp;sessionId=4cbb57a95db03b51f571ba4f41025e804bdabf7a&amp;siteScreenName=space_explored&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=500px\" data-tweet-id=\"1409221092548435973\"><\/iframe><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With July right around the corner, activity is still extremely high around the orbital pad construction site. Six segments have been stacked for the launch tower and the orbital mount has taken shape. The pad is also now surrounded by different support equipment necessary for launch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Will SpaceX meet this goal of July? Well, the construction of the first orbital Superheavy booster, Booster 3, is still in the early stages. Only very limited booster testing has taken place. There is also no word from the FAA on approval for such a test flight. That being said, SpaceX can do a lot in a month, and betting against them has historically been a bad idea.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-want-to-help-support-space-explored\">Want to help support Space Explored?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shop on&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;to support Space Explored writers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Directly support Seth by becoming a member of their&nbsp;Patreon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer-affiliate\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/unistellar-telescope.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17371\" width=\"750\" height=\"150\"><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22707"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}