Mystery Raptors spotted arriving at McGregor

Date:
Tue, 29 Jul 2025 04:48:35 +0000

Description:
A curious delivery caught the eyes of NSFs cameras at SpaceXs McGregor test site in The post Mystery Raptors spotted arriving at McGregor appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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A curious delivery caught the eyes of NSFs cameras at SpaceXs McGregor test site in Texas: three battered and heavily damaged Raptor engines, potentially from either the aft of recently recovered Booster 13, or the debris of Ship 36, which blew up during testing at Masseys.





SpaceXs McGregor facility is the beating heart of the companys engine testing program, where nearly every Merlin and Raptor engine is put through its paces before flight. NSF operates a 24/7 livestream of the site , and over the years, its become a window into SpaceXs engine development and production cadence. But this latest sighting was unusual. Following a recent camera repositioning to monitor new test stands, NSFs began noticing a steady stream of hardwareMerlin and Raptor engines, Falcon 9 stages, and morerolling
through the roads of McGregor. Among those, three wrecked Raptor engines raised eyebrows. These engines werent just scorched. They appeared seriously deformedmore so than any weve seen in recent booster recoveries. Initially, many suspected they may have come from Booster 13, which flew Starships sixth test flight before ditching into the Gulf of Mexico . That booster was recovered and recently delivered to SpaceXs Massey site for analysis. Jack Beyer of NSF captured photos of the Booster 13 aft section shortly after arrival at Massey, showing most of the Raptor engines still intactif waterlogged.

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The engines showed signs of corrosion and discoloration, particularly a greenish-blue hue inside the nozzles, likely caused by prolonged saltwater exposure and reactions with the copper liner. But the engines delivered to McGregor lacked this telltale color. Instead, they looked severely scorched and physically crushedindicating heat and impact damage, not just corrosion. In fact, even the worst-looking nozzle on Booster 13 still appears to be in better shape than these three. More recent images of Booster 13 confirm that most of its engines remain attached, particularly those nearer to the bottom of the vehicle, which appear to be in relatively good shape. So if not
Booster 13, then where did these Raptors come from? Another candidate: Ship
36 A few weeks ago, Ship 36 suffered a catastrophic explosion during testing at the Massey site. The blast obliterated much of the vehicle, including its engines. SpaceX responded quickly, clearing debris and beginning repairs to Massey, including upgrades to prevent similar failures in the future.

If these engines were from Ship 36, it would explain their severely burnt appearance and structural damage. Its plausible they were recovered during
the Massey site cleanup and then sent to McGregor for inspection. Why send them to McGregor at all? The test site isnt just for firing enginesits also where SpaceX dissects, analyzes, and learns from them. The engineering teams in McGregor are intimately familiar with Raptor hardware, and theyre well-equipped to assess post-failure components for design insights and failure analysis. Ready for Scrapping? Alternatively, they could simply be bound for scrap. McGregor has an engine graveyard of sortsan area filled with old, retired Falcon and Starship hardware, visible in aerial photos by NSF contributor Gary Blair, who has been providing regular flyover photos of the test for years in NSF L2 . Engine collection at SpaceX McGregor via Gary
Blair for NSF. Previous recoveries, such as the aft section of Booster 11, have ended up there as well. Ultimately, whether these engines are from Ship 36, Booster 13, or another mystery vehicle, one things clear: even damaged Raptors can still offer SpaceX valuable lessons. And for keen-eyed NSF viewers, every new delivery is a potential clue in SpaceXs fast-moving development puzzle. Report by Sawyer Rosenstein for NSFs BREAKINGSpace . Written by Alejandro Alcantarilla Romera. Lead image: NSFs McGregor Live.





The post Mystery Raptors spotted arriving at McGregor appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/07/mystery-raptors-mcgregor/


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