SpaceX 'Mars' rocket engine tested
Source: BBC
SpaceX 'Mars' rocket engine tested
26 September 2016 Science & Environment
Private firm SpaceX has carried out its first test of the Raptor rocket engine, designed to send humans to Mars.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced that the engine had been fired at the company's facility in McGregor, Texas.
If his vision is realised, it could power a super-heavy launch vehicle that would transport people to the Red Planet in coming decades.
But sending astronauts on round trips to our neighbour remains a formidable challenge.
Beyond the astronomical cost, there are the technical hurdles - currently unsolved - of protecting humans from the radiation levels they would be exposed to, once in deep space.
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Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37473609
[font size=1]The Raptor engine was fired at SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas[/font]
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