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WATCH: SpaceX test-fires first attached Raptor vacuum engine to Starship rocket

SpaceX shared a new video Thursday night of its Starship rocket firing an attached Raptor vacuum engine for the first time.

The Raptor vacuum engine is a variant of SpaceX’s Raptor engine which is being developed for Starship.

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SpaceX officials have said the Raptor engine has twice the thrust of the SpaceX Merlin engine, which is used to launch its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.

The Raptor engine was first test-fired in 2016 at SpaceX’s test stand in McGregor, Texas.

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SpaceX said the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket are designed to be fully reusable and powerful enough to send crew and supplies to Earth’s orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond.

Once complete, SpaceX says Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit.

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Though Starship has had a few crash landings, SpaceX successfully launched and landed Starship SN15 in May.

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