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Re:150 Meter SpaceX Starhopper Test [video] by rst on Tuesday August 27, 2019 @09:04PM (#20815971)
Wikipedia lists a few methane/LOX engines that have been used in test flights. For example, NASA's experimental Morpheus lander had fifteen or so test flights -- all low altitude, but some higher and longer lasting than StarHopper's hop today. It's also being developed simultaneously with Blue Origin's BE-4 engine, which hasn't flown yet, but has been through an extensive ground test program, and will be used on both Blue's own New Glenn orbital rocket and on ULA's Vulcan. So depending on how quickly the relevant test programs go, Raptor may or may not wind up being the first to be part of an orbital vehicle. (But as neither Vulcan nor New Glenn is currently slated to use it for the second stage, Raptor will very likely be the first to go all the way to orbit.)
Re:150 Meter SpaceX Starhopper Test [video] by JshWright on Tuesday August 27, 2019 @10:47PM (#20816426)
Yeah, Raptor is the first full-flow staged-combustion engine to fly, but not the first methalox.
Re:150 Meter SpaceX Starhopper Test [video] by Robotbeat on Thursday August 29, 2019 @01:11PM (#20831480)
I should point out that John Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace are the ones who actually built Morpheus.