Holy shit. I knew they were going to simplify Raptor a lot, but even knowing most of the rat's nest was sensors/etc., this is insane. I wish we could see cross sections!
The amount of work required to simplify the Raptor engine, internalize secondary flow paths and add regenerative cooling for exposed components was staggering.
As a result Raptor 3 doesn’t require any heat shield, eliminating heat shield mass & complexity, as well as the fire suppression system.
It is also lighter, has more thrust and has higher efficiency than Raptor 2.
Holy shit. I knew they were going to simplify Raptor a lot, but even knowing most of the rat's nest was sensors/etc., this is insane. I wish we could see cross sections!
So pretty! Any higher resolution pictures out there yet?
The highest resolution available would be the
?format=jpg&name=origphoto from the original tweet:https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GUBYMb0WsAAurC9?format=jpg&name=orig
Not sure if this resolution is any higher than the one already posted.
Also some interesting followup info: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1819597689283121225
Looks like a render