Sept. 8, 2024 6:15 am EST Twitter/@SpaceX Those who follow the exploits of SpaceX – the commercial space launch and exploration company — recently learned that it has announced its third-generation reusable methane-oxygen staged combustion engine, the Raptor 3. The Raptor has a reputation as the powerhouse in SpaceX's arsenal, as it offers significantly more thrust than the company's smaller but reputedly more reliable engine, the Merlin – among other differences between the engines. Both the company and its founder, Elon Musk, have posted about the recently completed new model on X (formerly Twitter) as well as some information about the enhancements that the engineers have made to its design. Advertisement This is certainly exciting news for fans of the company, but you might have a few questions about this new engine. To start, you'll probably want to know the ways SpaceX has improved its design over the last two generations in terms of specs. You will also probably be interested to learn the kind of craft this engine is designed for, and the plans SpaceX has for developing it further. There isn't a ton of information about the Raptor 3 that is publicly available just yet, but here's everything that we know about it so far. Specs compared to previous versions Twitter/@SpaceX One of the most important aspects to consider when looking at any generational leap in technology is the ways that the new model improves performance over the old. SpaceX not only shared the Raptor 3's specs, but it also shared those from the Raptor 1 and 2 so that you can see the growth in power and utility. The company did this across three units of measurement. It compared thrust, which is measured in ton-force units (tf) — illustrating the amount of force output, specific impulse, which is measured in seconds (s) — showing the engine's efficiency in using fuel to generate thrust, and the engine's weight, measured in kilograms (kg). Advertisement The Raptor 1 had a 185tf thrust, a 350s specific impulse, and an engine mass of 2080kg. The Raptor 2 had a 230tf thrust, a 347s specific impulse, and a 1630kg engine mass. The new Raptor 3 has a 280tf thrust, a 350s specific impulse, and an engine mass of 1525kg. This shows that SpaceX has managed to give the Raptor 3 a significant boost in thrust and reduce its overall weight simultaneously, while not drastically affecting its specific impulse. Ship use