SpaceX Shares Footage of Rocket Engine Tested At Sub Zero Temperatures
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As part of tests for the Artemis program, SpaceX test-fired its Raptore engine last month after chilling its components to simulate temperature at a lunar landing. The Raptor will be the largest engine of its kind fired on the Moon when Starship lands, and footage of the August test released yesterday afternoon comes as SpaceX races to conduct the second flight of its Starship rocket.
The rocket was de-stacked at the company's test site in Boca Chica, Texas, yesterday, and during the same day, SpaceX released test footage of the engine that will fire on the second-stage lunar Starship variant. This vehicle is NASA's first choice regarding plans to develop a human colony on Mars, and former NASA official Kathy Leuders, who now works at SpaceX, also believes that the second Starship test launch can take place as soon as in October.
The test firing was coordinated with NASA, with the space agency sharing more details about it in a blog post. NASA revealed that SpaceX demonstrated the engine's throttle profile and robust build in 2021. The latest footage shared by SpaceX is for an engine test conducted last month. It focused primarily on the engine's build since the Raptor was chilled to conditions that matched the temperature in a vacuum. Lunar temperatures can drop to as low as negative 130 degrees Celsius, and engines are built of thousands of components whose thermal profile might not withstand extreme conditions.
The Raptor is the star of the Starship program, as most upgrades to the full-stack Starship rocket after SpaceX's April test attempt have involved the engine. However, these
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