Elon Musk just revealed Raptor 4 Better Power x2, End the Space race!

The Raptor engine, in my opinion, is one of the most impressive feats of engineering that's happened at SpaceX and maybe in the world. That statement perfectly captures just how extraordinary the Raptor engine is, especially for anyone who watched SpaceX's latest video about the current Raptor V3. But what comes next is even more astonishing. Elon Musk has just revealed jaw-dropping figures for the next generation Raptor 4, numbers so ambitious... That they could completely redefine what a rocket engine is capable of and send shocks to the entire space industry. So what makes Raptor 4 so mind-blowing? And why should its competitors be terrified? Let's find out in today's episode of Alpha Tech. Raptor 4 is no longer a distant name for SpaceX rocket enthusiasts like us. SpaceX and Elon Musk seem to have first revealed the engine's name and power about two years ago. But only now is serious discussion of this supposedly optimal and most powerful rocket in the world reaching its peak. Earlier posts told us little more than that the next generation Raptor would be Raptor IV and would produce around 300 tons of thrust. Then, Elon Musk posted something even more jaw-dropping. It's not just a boost in power. It's how this new engine is arranged to serve Starship V4, a larger vehicle than the current Starship V3. It is so tempting to make a 500-ton thrust Raptor IV in place of the 250-ton Raptor III for the outer ring of the Starship booster. Wow! The most striking point here is that SpaceX doesn't necessarily have to replace all 33 engines on Super Heavy. Musk is reportedly planning to use Raptor IV only for the 20 engines on the booster's outer ring. This could be a strategic decision, because SuperHeavy's engine layout is already split into two groups with different roles – 13 engines in the inner ring and 20 in the outer ring. If only the outer ring is upgraded, SpaceX could significantly increase total thrust without redesigning the entire engine system at once. Let's look at the numbers to see how big a difference this could make. With the current configuration of 33 Raptor 3 engines, Each producing about 230 tons of thrust. We'll use this figure because Musk previously tweeted that Raptor 3 performs best at 230 tons. Super Heavy has a total thrust of roughly 7,590 tons. But if the 20 outer engines are replaced with Raptor 4 engines targeting 500 tons each, that group alone would produce 10,000 tons. Meanwhile, the 13 inner engines would keep using Raptor 3, contributing about 2,990 tons more. The booster's total thrust could then reach nearly 13,000 tons, roughly 70% higher than the previous configuration. In other words, by changing only part of the engine system, SpaceX could take Super Heavy to an entirely new level of power. If these numbers are achieved, the thrust of the V-4 booster alone would be nearly four times that of the Saturn V, the rocket that carried humans to the Moon. The important question, however, is not just how to generate more thrust, but why SpaceX would focus on upgrading the 20 outer engines. On a booster with 33 engines, doubling the thrust of the entire system would bring extremely complex demands for structure, fuel delivery, control, and thermal management. Upgrading only the outer ring may be a more flexible approach, allowing SpaceX to gain additional thrust without changing all the engines at once. Of course, this doesn't mean the 20 new engines will integrate easily. Higher thrust also means greater mechanical loads and stricter requirements for vibration, pressure, and fuel flow control. In particular, an engine that produces 500 tons on a test stand may not sustain that performance during an actual flight while meeting Starship's requirement for repeated reuse. Raptor 4 isn't the only change expected in this Starship generation. Based on the configuration being analyzed by the community, the Starship V4 upper stage could increase its engine count from six to nine by adding three vacuum Raptor engines. This would give the upper stage more thrust and improve performance in space, where vacuum engine efficiency is especially important. If the nine engines on the ship are combined with the 33 on Super Heavy, the full Starship V-4 system would have about 42 engines. However, there is still no confirmation that all nine ship engines will be Raptor 4, or whether they will be improved versions of the current Raptor. What makes Musk's new idea more noteworthy is that it suggests Raptor 4's development ambitions may be changing very quickly. Previously, the target for this engine generation was about 300 tons of thrust at sea level, while Raptor 3 has reportedly reached around 230 to 250 tons, depending on configuration and operating conditions. But with the new 500-ton concept, SpaceX is setting a far higher goal. This is no longer about improving performance by a few dozen percent, but about nearly doubling the thrust of a single engine. And if SpaceX truly solves the challenges of mass, durability, throttle control, and reusability, Raptor 4 could become one of the most important factors determining the payload capacity of the next generation of Starship. If this idea becomes reality, Starship V4 won't just be a larger or more powerful version of V3. It could become a launch system with thrust unprecedented in the history of rocketry. Truly incredible! Elon Musk and the SpaceX engineers will surely need thousands of hours of research to perfect this Raptor. In the meantime, you can easily subscribe to the Alphatech channel. Subscribe to get more news every day! Of course, SpaceX isn't the only company trying to build rocket engines that are more powerful, lighter, and easier to manufacture. While Elon Musk considers pushing Raptor four to five hundred tons of thrust, Blue Origin has just unveiled a brand new booster engine called Northstar. Placing the two side-by-side reveals two very different development paths in America's rocket race. First, let's look at the BE-4, Blue Origin's current main booster engine. It runs on liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas and operates on an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle. The BE-4 produces about 2,846 kilonewtons, equivalent to 640,000 pounds-force, or roughly 290 tons of thrust per engine. It's a formidable engine, especially since it powers two orbital launch programs, Blue Origin's New Glenn and United Launch Alliance's Vulcan. New Glenn uses seven BE-4 engines on its first stage, while Vulcan uses two. However, when placed alongside Raptor 4's ambitions, the gap in thrust targets becomes very large, which tilts the advantage toward Raptor 4. Of course, that's true even if Raptor 4's original target of 300 tons is the only figure considered. But Musk keeps surprising us with an even wilder number, a Raptor 4 target of 500 tons of thrust, which would make each engine roughly 72% more powerful than the BE-4. That means a single Raptor 4 could produce the thrust of nearly 1.72 BE-4 engines. But the difference isn't only about thrust figures. Raptor was developed for the Starship system with the goal of fully reusing both the booster and the spacecraft while also meeting the demands of mass production at a steadily lower cost. That's a completely different challenge from building one powerful engine to fly a first stage. Blue Origin, however, isn't willing to sit still in this race. In early November, the company officially unveiled Northstar, a next-generation booster engine designed to produce more thrust than the BE-4 while being significantly lighter and structurally simpler. Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, sharing the news on X. According to the published specs, Northstar delivers 3,181 kilonewtons, or 715,000 pounds-force, roughly 324 tons of thrust. That's about 12% more than the BE-4. The real headline, though, is how Blue Origin built it. Northstar is roughly 30% lighter than the BE-4 and uses less than half as many parts. More than 65% of its mass is produced with metal 3D printing. Blue Origin says final assembly can be completed in under a day, though that refers only to assembly, not to the full manufacturing process from raw materials. On the technical side, Northstar keeps the liquid oxygen and LNG propellant combination, the oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle, and the single-shaft turbopump architecture Blue Origin developed for the BE-4. It's a refinement of a proven platform, built to cut part count, reduce mass, and make mass production easier. Notably, the program went from approval to the start of development testing in just 11 months. Now compare Northstar with Raptor 4. Northstar's 324 tons is higher than the BE-4, but still well short of the 500 ton target Elon Musk recently mentioned for Raptor 4. If that target is met, Raptor 4 would be about 54% more powerful than Northstar. Both engines burn liquid oxygen with a natural gas-derived fuel, but they take different routes. Raptor uses full-flow staged combustion, while Northstar uses oxygen-rich staged combustion. Even more interesting, Northstar was never meant to replace the BE-4. Blue Origin has confirmed that both engines will coexist in its lineup. Blue Origin has not yet said which rocket will debut Northstar, or when the engine will first fly. Still, the message is clear. Blue Origin is scaling up its engine production and diversifying its portfolio rather than betting everything on one engine. Northstar aims to be lighter, simpler, and easier to build, which makes it a serious future rival to the Raptor family. This may be the moment Blue Origin accelerates to close the gap with SpaceX, a gap it has been chasing for years. But closing the gap is one thing, surpassing SpaceX will take a lot more time. Blue Origin's next New Glenn flight has now been pushed to January 2027, breaking an earlier promise from its leadership. Still, An effort like this deserves respect. So where does Raptor 4, with Elon Musk's new 500-ton thrust goal, stand in the world rocket engine rankings? After comparing it with the BE-4 and Blue Origin's Northstar, let's widen the lens to other famous rocket engines around the world. First is Russia's RD-180, one of the most famous booster engines in the world. Burning liquid oxygen and kerosene in an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle, the RD-180 produces about 390 tons of thrust at sea level. It was the main engine of the American Atlas V rocket. If Raptor 4 reaches 500 tons, it would be about 28% more powerful than the RD-180. Next is NASA's RS-25, the engine that powered the space shuttle into orbit and continues to fly on the SLS rocket. Each RS-25 produces roughly 186 to 190 tons of thrust at sea level, which is only about 38% of Raptor 4's target. That means a single Raptor 4 could produce the thrust of roughly 2.6 RS-25 engines. However, the RS-25 burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and has very high specific impulse, so despite its lower thrust, it remains one of the most efficient rocket engines humans have ever developed. But if we want an engine that truly exceeds Raptor 4's 500-ton target in single-engine thrust, we have to mention the F-1 from the Saturn V. This legendary engine carried humans to the Moon during the Apollo program. Each F-1 produced about 690 tons of thrust at sea level, roughly 38% more than Raptor 4's target. The Saturn V used five F-1 engines on its first stage, producing a combined thrust of about 3,400 tons at liftoff. However, the F-1 is no longer used on any rocket, while Raptor 4 is still in development and will almost certainly appear in the near future. Overall, Raptor 4 is already one of the most outstanding engines among the most powerful rocket engines in the world. We haven't seen any rocket engine surpass it yet, and SpaceX and Elon Musk aren't stopping at what they've achieved. Perhaps behind the curtain is the continuous refinement of the Raptor engine. Only once Raptor has reached a certain level could Elon Musk dare to aim for a new engine reaching 500 tons. Do you agree with this? Feel free to leave a comment below the video so we can discuss it together.