SpaceX has ramped up its engine testing efforts at the McGregor test facility this past week, conducting a total of 24 Raptor engine firings and achieving multiple milestones in engine performance and durability. The activity highlights SpaceX’s ongoing push to refine its next-generation Raptor engines, crucial for the Starship program.
The SpaceX McGregor test site, situated in the small town of McGregor, Texas, serves as the company’s primary rocket development and test facility for propulsion systems.
The site spans a large area and features horizontal and vertical test bays, enabling a range of simulations, from short ignition tests to full-duration burns, all conducted in a controlled environment separate from the company’s launch sites.
The importance of the McGregor facility lies in its role as the backbone of SpaceX’s engine refinement process, enabling iterative testing that accelerates advancements in reusable rocket technology.
It is particularly vital for the Starship program, where Raptor engines undergo extensive evaluations, including tests for relight reliability and record-breaking burn durations, ensuring they meet the demands of deep-space missions like Mars exploration. Often, SpaceX will push engines to breaking point to test their limits.
Among the recent key developments was the second test firing at the newly introduced Raptor North test stand, which lasted 19 seconds—significantly longer than the initial two-second burn conducted previously.
Records tumbled at the Raptor South stand, where engineers focused on the still-in-development Raptor 3 engines. The week began with a standing record of 152 seconds for the longest burn. This was shattered on Wednesday with a 180-second firing, only to be surpassed again on Friday with an impressive 201-second test.
These achievements mark new benchmarks for the Raptor 3 variant, though it’s unclear if longer burns have occurred on other stands due to mixed testing of Raptor 2 and 3 engines at that location.
The new McGregor Raptor test stands via Gary Blair flyover (L2/NSF)
Further demonstrating the engine’s reliability, SpaceX performed a rigorous “torture test” on the vertical stand, firing a single Raptor engine 13 times in succession. This sequence appears aimed at perfecting relight conditions and ignition timing, a focus that has become routine in recent months.
In addition to the firings, McGregor Live observers noted increased engine traffic around the site. A Raptor 2 Vacuum engine bearing serial number 580—the highest ever spotted—was seen multiple times between August 4 and 7, suggesting it was undergoing extensive handling or preparation.
Similarly, a Raptor 3 engine with serial number 24 was captured on camera at least three times during the week.
A standout sighting occurred on Friday: a Raptor 3 Vacuum engine with serial number 8, the same unit featured in Elon Musk’s presentation at the end of May. The engine almost looks incomplete, due to its sleek design, contrasting it favorably with the more cluttered appearance of the Raptor 2 Vacuum.
Lead Image via NSF McGregor Live.
