Skip to main content

SpaceX slow-motion video shows powerful Raptor rocket engine shutting down

SpaceX has shared dramatic slow-motion footage showing a Raptor engine powering down at the end of a recent test fire.

“Shutdown of a Raptor vacuum engine in slow motion,” SpaceX said in a message accompanying the video (below). It added that the engine’s nozzle “is sized for use by Starship in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and outer space, so operation at sea level and low chamber pressures results in flow separation creating visible rings in the exhaust.”

Recommended Videos

Shutdown of a Raptor vacuum engine in slow motion. The engine’s nozzle is sized for use by Starship in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and outer space, so operation at sea level and low chamber pressures results in flow separation creating visible rings in the exhaust pic.twitter.com/1Z42WIRnX7

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 10, 2024

SpaceX doesn’t say by how much the footage has been slowed, but the detail visible in the exhaust suggests that it’s playing at way below the real speed.

As SpaceX mentioned, the Raptor engines power the Starship spacecraft, which is currently under development. The Starship spacecraft has six engines — three Raptor engines for landing on Earth or another planet, and three Raptor Vacuum (RVac) engines for use in the vacuum of space, one of which features in the video.

The Super Heavy rocket, which carries the spacecraft to orbit, is powered by 33 Raptor engines that together create a colossal — and record-breaking — 17 millions pounds of thrust at launch. The engines themselves are powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen. You can see the Raptors in action during the Super Heavy’s second test launch, which took place in December ahead of its most recent flight in March.

The Raptor engines are more powerful than the Merlin engines used by SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. The increased power is required for the kind of missions that SpaceX wants to use the Super Heavy and Starship for once the testing phase is complete. These include transporting cargo and crew to the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program, and may even involve more ambitious missions, such as the first crewed flight to Mars, which could take place in the 2030s.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to watch SpaceX’s fifth Starship test flight on Sunday
spacex starship fifth flight live stream 5 website desktop 1 12e2f537a0 jpg

SpaceX is getting ready to launch its mighty Starship on its fifth test flight, scheduled for Sunday, October 13. With a mostly-successful fourth test flight behind it, the Starship has already been into orbit and returned to Earth mostly intact. This time, SpaceX will be hoping to catch its Super Heavy booster as well as taking the upper stage Starship into orbit.

The exact date of this fifth test flight has been delayed due to issues with licensing from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but SpaceX has now confirmed it is targeting 8 a.m. ET (5 a.m. PT) Sunday for its test.

Read more
SpaceX could launch Starship on 5th test flight much earlier than expected
The world's most powerful rocket on the launchpad.

There’s growing expectation that SpaceX could launch the mighty Starship rocket as early as Sunday, October 13.

SpaceX was informed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month that it was unlikely to receive a launch permit until late November as the regulator needed time to complete work on its flight launch assessment.

Read more
SpaceX Crew-9 mission launches to ISS carrying two astronauts
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov onboard, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon craft has launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida carrying two new crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch had been delayed a number of times, most recently due to Hurricane Helene, but lifted off successfully at 1:17 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 28.

The spacecraft, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket and launched from Space Launch Complex-40, carries NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as members of the Crew-9 mission. It is unusual for a Dragon to launch carrying just two crew members, as it typically carries crews of four. In this case, the spare seats are reserved for the homeward journey of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams who are currently on the ISS after having traveled there on the first crewed test flight of the Boeing Starliner.

Read more