SpaceX Has Built Nearly 400 Starship Raptor Rocket Engines Ahead Of Test Flight

wccftech.com:

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

Even though it continues to wait for government approval for the next Starship test flight, SpaceX is pumping out rocket engines in the hundreds for its new rocket. Starship, the world's biggest rocket, is currently being tested in Boca Chica, Texas, and the vehicle is an entirely new design over SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9. Starship uses Raptor engines to generate millions of pounds of thrust, and these engines have often created worries due to the high number on Starship.

However, a lull in orbital test flights has allowed SpaceX to ramp up the Raptor production line, and now, it appears that the firm has manufactured close to four hundred rocket engines.

Raptor production has been one of the key pain points of the Starship program, at least during the early days of SpaceX's testing campaign. The engine is significantly more powerful than the Merlin engines that power the Falcon 9 rocket, and it also redirects all of its exhaust gasses back into the combustion chamber to improve fuel efficiency and power output. Naturally, this requires highly durable parts and a new manufacturing process.

SpaceX's chief Elon Musk was candid in mentioning these problems during a detailed talk in 2020, where he shared that the first Starship tests would use fewer engines. A year later, in 2021, SpaceX was producing one engine every two days, indicating that the firm could make as many as 176 engines in a best case scenario where production lines ran 24/7. Sticking to its rapid production and design philosophy, the firm managed to double this rate the next year. This was revealed by NASA's deputy