Chinese Space Startup Reveals Methane Rocket Engine Design Similar to SpaceX’s Raptor 3

Chinese launch startup Space Pioneer has unveiled a new design for its Tianhuo-21 methane-liquid-oxygen rocket engine, drawing comparisons to SpaceX’s Raptor 3. The company, which has raised about $1 billion, shared the design on social media this week.

From the outside, the Tianhuo-21 bears a striking resemblance to SpaceX’s Raptor 3. Its sea-level thrust is rated at 2,450 kilonewtons—approximately the same as the Raptor 3.

Elon Musk says reproducing Raptor 3 will be difficult

Responding to Space Pioneer’s engine design, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said that copying the Raptor 3 would not be easy.

“I don’t think any new company should try to build a Raptor 3,” Musk wrote on X. “Although it looks simple on the outside (required to withstand extreme heat without a heat shield), the interior has a very complex shape that can only be manufactured using highly modified 3D metal printing.”

Falcon Heavy launches NASA’s Roman Space Telescope

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is traveling toward distant observatories on such a precise trajectory that engineers estimate its fuel could last twice as long as originally expected, Ars reports.

Designers of the $4.3 billion observatory originally planned to fill Roman’s four fuel tanks with enough propellant for a minimum five-year service life, plus a potential five-year mission extension.

That estimate was conservative. “As a result of careful planning by our orbital mechanics team, masterful execution by our operations team, and precise launch by SpaceX, Roman has fuel reserves for at least 22 years of potential science operations,” said Jamie Dunn, center director at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

On August 30, the Roman Space Telescope launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning a mission to expand our understanding of the universe.

Blue Origin and Air Force study advanced rocket propulsion

Blue Origin and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket and Space Propulsion Division at Edwards Air Force Base have announced an expanded public-private partnership to develop new rocket propulsion technologies. Blue Origin announced the agreement this week.

Nicholas Robertson, Blue Origin’s senior vice president of engines, said the new agreement reflects the company’s commitment to developing “the next generation of rocket propulsion technology.”

“Studying these historical and technological artifacts allows us to ground our engineering models on actual government research,” Robertson said.

Blue Origin continues development of its lunar lander engine

Blue Origin’s news release noted that the Air Force Research Laboratory has conducted pioneering research into oxygen enrichment and full-flow staged combustion technology.

Blue Origin also said it will continue collaborating with the Air Force on the testing and maturation of its BE-7 lunar lander engines at the Area 1-42 High Altitude Rocket Test Facility in Edwards.

Next three rocket launches

• September 19: Electronic | Dozen Owls | Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand | 03:15 UTC
• September 19: Long March 2D | Unspecified Payload | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China | 10:50 UTC
• September 20: Falcon 9 | Starlink 15-27 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | 01:47 UTC