A potentially brand new SpaceX Raptor engine, which could be used on future rockets, has been spotted in McGregor, Texas, by local media. SpaceX SpaceX's Raptor engines power the Starship rocket, which is the firm's next-generation platform designed for interplanetary missions. Progress on Starship test flights appears to have paused indefinitely after two consecutive failures this year of an upgraded upper-stage rocket. SpaceX has not provided any updates about Starship Flight 8 apart from the post-launch update, which simply confirmed that the bottom section of the rocket suffered from engine problems before ending its ascent burn.
Potential SpaceX Raptor 3 Vacuum Engine With Wider Nozzle Spotted In Texas
SpaceX's latest Starship test flight took to the skies in early March and ended, like the previous one, with the second stage failing to meet any of its test objectives. SpaceX took roughly a month and a half to conduct Starship Flight 8, the latest test, after the failed attempt in January. The rocket uses second-generation Raptor engines, called Raptor 2, and the firm revealed its successor a year back in a presentation given by Elon Musk in April.
Raptor 3 will eventually succeed Raptor 2. This engine is a vastly simplified design over its predecessor; so much so that the engine's simplicity has often confused observers about it being incomplete. After Musk revealed the engine in April, he and President Gwynne Shotwell shared in August that his firm had test fired the engine for the first time.
The engine which SpaceX had fired in August was a sea level variant of the Raptor, judging by its nozzle size. Engines on upper stage rockets, such as the Falcon 9 second stage and the second stage Starship, use wider nozzles. This is because when a rocket engine is fired on Earth, the atmosphere compresses the exhaust gasses and a smaller nozzle allows them to increase their pressure.
For an upper-stage engine, typically used in the lighter upper atmosphere or in space, little to no surrounding air pressure means that the gasses have to expand more in order to perform effectively.
Fresh visuals from SpaceX's site in McGregor, Texas, show what just might be a Raptor 3 vacuum engine. The engine in the image has a wider nozzle than a sea-level variant would have, and it also appears to match the vastly simplified design of the Raptor 3. Amongst other upgrades, the simplifications include the lack of a heat shield and welded joints and bolts.
The removal of the joints and bolts means that the chances of hot gasses leaking into the engine are lower than those of its predecessors. It also means that repairs are trickier due to the lack of removable parts.
Higher resolution snap of the @SpaceX v3 Raptor Vacuum!
From @NASASpaceflight's McGregor Live
— Ryan Caton (@dpoddolphinpro) April 23, 2025
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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