The successor to Intel’s Alder Lake CPU lineup, codenamed Raptor Lake, is expected to retain support for DDR4 memory.
Intel Raptor Lake CPUs Will Also Feature Both DDR5 and DDR4 Memory Support
The latest information comes from Moore’s Law is Dead who reports that Alder Lake buyers who are getting on board the DDR4 platform don’t have to worry about their platforms going obsolete within a generation because Intel’s Raptor Lake CPUs will retain support for DDR4 memory. So it looks like users who invest in a DDR4 platform now can upgrade to a Raptor Lake CPU when the new processors arrive a year from now.
Discovered Intel Core i5 12400F CPU Offers AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU Performance In Half The Cost
Raptor Lake will support DDR4.
Some people might say “duh”, but I have seen a conspiracy theory going around that Intel would obsolete DDR4 mobos when Raptor Lake launches. No, they won’t.
Rest easy DDR4 Alder Lake buyers 😊.
— Moore’s Law Is Dead (@mooreslawisdead) November 8, 2021
The Intel Raptor Lake lineup will include the 13th Gen Core processor family and we have already heard from our sources that the blue team is working on their 700-series chipsets to coincide with the launch of Raptor Lake. The Raptor Lake CPUs will be a soft-refresh of Alder Lake CPUs, rocking an updated core architecture and increased number of cores (E-Cores). Based on this info, Raptor Lake will be carrying the same memory controller as Alder Lake though with slight optimizations to support faster memory. The existing Alder Lake memory controller allows for both DDR4-3200 and DDR5-4800 standards. Raptor Lake is expected to keep the same though we can expect higher IMC speeds.
This is good news for users who are going to get 600-series motherboards with DDR4-only support as they are not only cheaper but the overall platform cost of going DDR4 is lower too. DDR5 at the moment is both expensive and hard to find. There are many mainstream users who won’t see the benefits of running DDR5 memory and a 32 GB high-end kit will cost more than what a standard i5 or i3 chip in the Alder Lake lineup will cost. So to take advantage of Alder Lake’s price to perf ratio, it’s wiser for entry-level users to go for something like the Core i5-12600K or below (Core i5-12400, Core i3-12100) and utilize the still very capable DDR4-3600 / 4200 kits.
The Intel Raptor Lake CPU lineup will launch around the same time as AMD’s Zen 4 Rapahel family that will comprise next-generation Ryzen Desktop CPUs. The new AM5 platform is confirmed to get DDR5 support though we don’t know if like Intel, AMD will also have some entry-level products that feature support for DDR4 memory too. So far, every DDR generation, Intel has had an entry-level board platform that offered support for both the latest and the previous standard. This time, the support was extended to high-end Z690 motherboards too.
Intel Mainstream Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:
The Raptor vacuum engine firing at Starbase in Texas.
SpaceX
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s spaceflight juggernaut, is in the middle of a lengthy licensing process with the Federal Aviation Administration over whether it will be able to launch its mammoth Starship to orbit from the coast of Boca Chica, Texas. In the meantime, it’s carrying on its merry way, testing out a variant of its super-powered Raptor engine.
On Thursday, SpaceX shared a video of its Raptor vacuum engine — integrated onto a Starship prototype — firing for the first time in the dusk light at Starbase on the Texas coast. While it’s technically the second time the vacuum has been tested, it’s the first time SpaceX has done so while the engine is attached to the rocket.
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Starship is intended to carry humans to the moon and, eventually, Mars. The Raptor vacuum (or “RVac”) engine is basically a “space” version of the Raptor engines that will lift off from Earth underneath the Super Heavy booster.
The vacuum engines have a much larger nozzle and are designed to operate more efficiently in the vacuum of space than the “sea-level” version of Raptor. Starship is expected to be outfitted with three RVacs and three standard Raptor engines for flights across the solar system.
You can see the test firing below.
A second static test fire was reported by Space.com later in the evening.
There’s still a long way to go before SpaceX gets Starship to orbit. After a bunch of successful test flights (including some that ended explosively) reached a height of around 6 miles (10 kilometers), SpaceX has been preparing for the next prototype flight. But the FAA is currently seeking public comments on a draft of the FAA’s Environmental Assessment, which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, before the agency can grant SpaceX a launch license for the first orbital flight of Starship.
That period is expected to end on Nov. 1 and then the FAA will publish a final assessment. If the Administration asks for a full Environmental Impact Statement, we might be seeing a lot more test firings on the ground.
SpaceX has scheduled a full week with as many as 30 hours of road and beach closures for Starship and Super Heavy testing and is working hard to prepare the first orbital-class ship and booster for several major challenges.
First rolled to SpaceX’s Starbase orbital launch site more than six weeks ago and stacked together for the first time on August 6th, the company has spent the last month putting the finishing touches on Starship 20 (S20) and Super Heavy Booster 4 (B4) – ranging from heat shield installation to plumbing and wiring. Perhaps most importantly, SpaceX has also installed some or all of the Raptor engines that are expected to support the ship and boosters’ first static fire qualification tests.
For a number of reasons, those static fires – and a few additional tests expected to precede them – could be huge milestones for SpaceX’s Starship program.
SpaceX appears to have begun finalizing the Raptor engines that will be aboard Super Heavy for its first major static fire testing. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
Earlier this month, after rolling Starship S20 to the launch pad for the second time and installing it on one of two suborbital launch/test mounts, SpaceX began the process of installing Raptor engines (again for the second time) on the rocket. Beginning with two center sea level-optimized Raptors, SpaceX then installed a Raptor Vacuum engine on Ship 20. The implication: when S20 fires up for the first time, it might be doing so with two kinds of Raptor engines – a first for the Starship program.
Since Raptor Vacuums first began static fire testing at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas development campus around Q4 2020, the company has yet to fire up an RVac engine on a Starship prototype. Starship’s current design features three gimballing sea-level Raptors and three vacuum-optimized variants with much larger nozzles – all in close proximity inside a 9m-wide (30 ft) skirt.
S20 had six engines installed for the first time in Starship history on August 4th. (Elon Musk)Those engines were removed when S20 returned to the launch site late last month but have been gradually reinstalled over the last two weeks. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
As such, the first Starship static fire with any combination of Raptor Center and Raptor Vacuum engines will be a significant milestone for SpaceX. Eventually, that will likely culminate in the first static fire(s) of a Starship (likely S20) with all six Raptors installed – a test that will effectively qualify that prototype for its first orbital launch attempt.
Meanwhile, things are arguably even more complex for Super Heavy. Aside from a single three-engine static fire completed by Super Heavy Booster 3 (B3), Starship’s first stage has never come close to a full-up static fire with all 29-33 Raptor engines installed. Whenever that occurs, Super Heavy will likely become the most powerful rocket ever tested and – like with Starship – will be more or less qualified for its first flight if the test goes according to plan.
Super Heavy B4’s first and second trips onto the orbital launch mount. (SpaceX/SPadre)
SpaceX already installed a full 29 Raptor engines on Super Heavy B4 last month. After returning to Starbase, those engines were removed and eventually reinstalled a few weeks later – albeit with a number of replacements. Now, having spent the last 11 days sitting on the orbital pad’s launch mount, SpaceX has begun to replace at least one of Booster 4’s 29 installed engines. It’s unclear why but the fact that SpaceX is replacing engines at the launch pad – instead of rolling Super Heavy back to the build site for the third time – is an encouraging sign that B4 is nearly ready for its first proof and static fire tests.
Due to all the recent activity, it’s almost impossible to tell whether Starship S20 or Super Heavy B4 will be first onto the figurative saddle for ambient pressure, cryogenic, and static fire proof testing. What is clear, though, is that SpaceX has five six-hour testing windows scheduled every day next week. Stay tuned for updates on the next steps for SpaceX’s first orbital-class ship and booster pair.
SpaceX prepares Starship, Super Heavy for milestone Raptor static fire tests
SpaceX says its Hawthorne, California rocket factory and headquarters has completed the assembly of Starship and Super Heavy’s 100th Raptor engine.
SpaceX began developing Raptor behind the scenes as far back as 2012 and 2013, when a small team successfully tested a full-scale Raptor preburner – a small but important subcomponent – at NASA’s Stennis Space Center (SSC) facilities. Three years later, in September 2016, CEO Elon Musk revealed the first integrated static fire of a Raptor prototype – though it would later become clear that that prototype was a subscale engine about the same size as Falcon 9’s Merlin 1D.
After two and a half years of subscale testing that helped SpaceX refine startup and shutdown sequences and the general operation of what quickly became the world’s most thoroughly tested full-flow staged combustion engine, SpaceX graduated to full-scale testing. Designed to produce about twice the thrust (~200 tons/440,000 lbf) of its subscale predecessors, the first full-scale Raptor engine shipped to SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas test facilities and completed its first static fire days later on February 3rd, 2019.
Notably, the very first full-scale Raptor prototype (SN1) not only survived its first test but lived long enough to complete several more, ultimately reaching SpaceX’s minimum thrust target four days after its first static fire. A vibration issue would soon require several months of troubleshooting and iterative build-test-fail cycles but Raptor was ultimately ready to support its first brief Starhopper hop tests in July and August.
Approximately 15 months after Raptor’s first flight, Starship prototype SN8 successfully lifted off with three engines, one of which performed a near-flawless four-minute burn to apogee. Eventually, six months after SN8’s successful ascent but failed landing, Starship SN15 successfully landed, demonstrating Raptor’s ability to reignite mid-flight. Since SN15’s May 2021 success, SpaceX appears to have completed anywhere from 20 to 35+ new Raptors as part of a dramatic acceleration in production to meet the needs of at least two imminent orbital Starship test flights – both of which will need approximately 35 engines each.
For additional information on Booster 3’s engine placement. Refer to this diagram below!
Massive thanks to @StarshipGazer for providing super high resolution and detailed pictures which allowed me to figure these positions out. pic.twitter.com/j1s5qHoGJ2
— Artzius (@artzius) July 21, 2021
Per its label, RB16 – now better known as the 100th Raptor engine overall – is the 16th Raptor Boost engine built by SpaceX. “Boost” refers to the particular variant – in this case, a Raptor engine specifically designed for an outer ring of 20 engines on each Super Heavy booster. Unlike Raptor Center (RC) engines, the outer ring of Raptor Boost engines are fixed in place against the rocket’s skirt and aren’t designed to vector their thrust (i.e. gimbal). According to Musk, all sea level-optimized Raptor engines will ultimately produce approximately 230 tons (~510,000 lbf) of thrust.
Unofficially—because Blue Origin never talks about these things publicly—I’ve heard that a total of nine BE-4 engines have been built as part of the development program so far. Nine. Zero currently on the test stand. https://t.co/i8RlOTsYxJ
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) July 26, 2021
Relative to almost any other large-scale engine development program in the last half-century, Raptor’s 29-month 100-engine milestone is an extraordinary achievement. The closest comparable engine is Blue Origin’s BE-4, which is expected to produce up to ~240 tons (~540,000 lbf) of thrust, uses an efficient (albeit slightly less so) combustion cycle, and relies on the same methane and oxygen propellant. Full-scale BE-4 testing began 16 months before Raptor in October 2017 and Blue Origin has reportedly only built and tested nine prototypes in the almost four years since. According to Musk, as of May 2021, SpaceX is now building more than a dozen Raptors – including prototypes and flight engines – every month.
SpaceX just finished Starship’s 100th Raptor engine
Just days after Starship SN11 conducted a fog-cloaked test flight that ended in an explosive finale, SN15 is already in final preparations for a rollout down Highway 4 at SpaceX Starbase (Boca Chica). SN15 will sport numerous modifications that SpaceX hopes will result in improved performance ahead of shooting for orbit along with smoother touchdowns for its prototype rocket.
One of the mostly unspecified modifications involves the engines, which are being aided by an increased test cadence at SpaceX’s McGregor test site. The center is currently constructing two additional vertical Raptor test stands to increase throughput.
SpaceX Starbase:
SN11 was the most dramatic ending to a Starship prototype flight to date, albeit without any cameras catching the explosion due to thick fog in the region.
When SpaceX’s onboard feed froze, SN11 was moving toward the flip and landing burn of its three Raptors. NASASpaceflight.com’s Livestream audio caught the sound engine relight, quickly followed by the explosive boom and pieces of SN11 raining down on the launch site.
Every other stage of flight, including the ascent and the bellyflop return, matched the successes of SN8 through SN10. While it was later noted that one engine struggled during the ascent, the vehicle achieved its test objectives heading toward the landing burn.
While online rumors have ranged from issues relating to the Flight Termination System’s triggering (FTS) through to the CH4 (Liquid Methane) Header Tank exploding, it is understood the likely cause was an explosive engine failure during the re-light process that destroyed the vehicle.
Nothing can be confirmed until Elon Musk or SpaceX release the official cause of the vehicle returning to the launch site in pieces, conclusions that are expected per Elon’s surprising and refreshing transparency with the test program.
SpaceX workers have been spending the days following the test to clean up a large debris field, hardware that will aid any outstanding conclusions into the failure in tandem with telemetry data.
“Looks like engine 2 had issues on ascent & didn’t reach operating chamber pressure during landing burn, but, in theory, it wasn’t needed,” Elon Musk noted just hours after the failure. “Something significant happened shortly after landing burn start. Should know what it was once we can examine the bits. Will report conclusions as soon as we know them.
Scenes from the crash site. SpaceX crews are working hard to remove a prodigious amount of Starship SN11 bits from the area surrounding the launch site. @NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/oGEQW6JpkY
— Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer) March 31, 2021
Undeterred, the loss of SN11 has not impacted the plan to push on to SN15’s test series.
Starship SN15 is the next phase of prototype testing thanks in part to the successes with SN8 onwards – resulting in the scrapping of SN12, 13, and 14. This progression may also provide automatic mitigation of SN11’s issue.
“It (SN15) has hundreds of design improvements across structures, avionics/software & engine,” Elon added. “Hopefully, one of those improvements covers this problem. If not, then retrofit will add a few more days.”
SN15 rolled from the Mid Bay to the High Bay during the week, ahead of receiving its Nosecone, which has since been mated to the stack. It will make the trip down Highway 4 as early as Monday, once the impressive Liebherr LR1600/2 Crawler Crane (dubbed “Tankzilla”) has made the trip for the task of raising SN15 on the launch mount.
This vehicle marks the second phase of testing for the full-stack Starship prototypes ahead of pushing on to the orbital vehicles, which is expected to open with the SN20 vehicle – as previously reported by NASASpaceFlight.com.
“Next major technology rev is at SN20. Those ships will be orbit-capable with heat shield & stage separation system. Ascent success probability is high. However, SN20+ vehicles will probably need many flight attempts to survive Mach 25 entry heating & land intact.”
Starship SN20 begins life with the leg skirt section spotted by Mary (@bocachicagal)
Although Elon confirmed the orbital attempt would be as reported, with SN20 and Super Heavy BN3, the claimed target date of “by July” was always highly ambitious. The likelihood BN3 will be the Super Heavy to conduct the flight is also subject to change.
This ever-evolving plan was confirmed when Elon noted BN1 won’t even undergo testing at the suborbital site and will be scrapped.
Currently stacked in the High Bay, BN1 was never going to hop. However, it was expected to be proof tested – and at one point was potentially Static Fired with a couple of Raptors. While SpaceX may take the opportunity to test how to roll such a tall booster down Highway 4, it appears likely the pathfinder will likely be scrapped at the Production Site.
Booster BN1 watches as Starship SN15 receives an aft flap. 🤩🚀@NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/Pl0RQpUoXP
— Mary (@BocaChicaGal) March 31, 2021
“BN1 is a manufacturing pathfinder, so will be scrapped. We learned a lot, but have already changed design to BN2,” Elon noted, with the design change likely to be related to the position of the LOX and CH4 tanks in the stack.
Amazingly, Elon added that SpaceX aims to complete the stacking of the BN2 Super Heavy booster – which is currently in sections outside the High Bay, in time to rollout and lifted on to the yet-to-be-completed Orbital Launch Site mount in a matter of weeks.
“Goal is to get BN2 with engines on orbital pad before end of April. It might even be orbit-capable if we are lucky,” Elon added, with “orbit-capable” a highly surprising statement given his initial note about the first test of a Super Heavy originally being a 150-meter hop.
However, whenever there is doubt in ambitious Starship schedule goals, the Production Site is on hand to add some realism via its incredible cadence. Even BN3 sections have already been spotted by Mary (@bocachicagal).
A huge amount of work is continuing at the Orbital Launch Site, ranging from the addition of GSE (Ground Support Equipment) and commodity tanks through to the initial phase of constructing the Integration Tower that will become the tallest structure in the region when completed.
While the plan for BN1 was to utilize one of the two suborbital mounts, the goal of placing BN2 on a mount that has yet to be completed will task engineers with installing the launch table and other associated hardware over the coming weeks amid SN15’s test campaign.
However, SpaceX is not averse to testing vehicles while still constructing the facilities designed to host them during their operational phase.
SpaceX McGregor:
SpaceX’s Rocket Development and Test Facility has been an integral part of its success since it acquired the facility in 2003.
Every new engine built at SpaceX’s factory in California passes through McGregor ahead of being sent to the launch site as a unit or as part of a rocket stage.
The facility has grown in size during its SpaceX tenure, with the addition of numerous test stands, including the conversion of the original stalwart Falcon 9 tripod stand, which now hosts vertical Raptor testing.
Raptor engines are also tested in two horizontal bays, with long duration testing now into the SN60 range, the engines with the cited improvements. The second Raptor Vac (RVac) was also spotted on the horizontal stand last week via NSF’s Gary Blair in the L2 McGregor section, a local who flies past the test site at around 3,000 feet AGL.
RVac and Sea Level Raptors on the test stand via Gary Blair for NSF/L2 from his plane
The Raptor Vacuum (RVac), with its huge nozzle, will be the engine that will provide the bulk of Starship’s propulsive power in space.
So far, testing this engine has been progressing, with Elon recently noting, “Going well. Lot of work for an extra 20 secs of Isp!”
Elon had previously cited the advantage of vertical testing for Raptors as one reason the Tripod was converted to hosting the Starship engine. “Testing Raptor in vertical configuration (on the giant tripod) should allow us to simplify some aspects of the engine design.”
Soon, McGregor will have two additional vertical test stands for Raptor, with the construction of a new stand ongoing at the Texas site.
New Raptor Test Stand via Gary Blair for NSF/L2 from his plane
The new Raptor stand has an underground diverter, and each of the vertical test bays will be available for testing both sea-level and vacuum-optimized Raptors.
Importantly, it will also cater to the future demand for Raptor engines, which will exponentially increase during the early phase of Super Heavy testing.
Super Heavy will eventually sport 28 Raptor engines. While the goal will be to return all the engines on the fully reusable launch system, SpaceX will be prepared to ensure Raptor availability is in tune with the potential loss of engines during the early phase of full-stack test flights.
This article will be updated during the test week for SN15. For live updates, follow NASASpaceFlight’s Twitter account and the NSF Starship Forum Sections.
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After a few false starts and some minor delays, SpaceX’s 11th Starship prototype (SN11) has made it through two of the three major tests standing between it and liftoff.
SpaceX rolled Starship SN11 from the factory to the launch pad on March 8th, just five days after Starship SN10 briefly became the first prototype of its kind to land in one piece. One or two issues with Raptor’s final landing burn caused SN10 to touch down faster than expected and eventually led to the rocket’s explosive demise around 15 minutes later. Still, the test flight was an almost unequivocal success and seemingly left SpaceX with more than enough confidence to speed through preparations for the next flight test.
Heading into the next day, SpaceX had hoped to kick off cryogenic proof testing but Starship SN11 required a bit more attention than expected and unknown bugs ultimately meant that only an ambient-temperature pressure test could be completed by the end of the test window. Those issues appeared to persist through the end of March 10th, preventing any kind of proof test attempt.
On March 11th, Starship SN11 was able to take its first real stab at a cryo proof and was loaded with liquid nitrogen (LN2), a cryogenic fluid with a density and temperature similar to Starship’s liquid oxygen and methane propellant but without the risk of a catastrophic fire or explosion. Over the course of three or so hours, SpaceX didn’t appear to fully load SN11 with LN2, a possible sign of a technical bug that could just as easily be an intentional part of the test design.
Oddly, parts of the evenings testing were unlike past cryo proofs and there’s a slight chance that the activity was actually a static fire attempt scrubbed well before ignition, though it’s impossible to say without official confirmation.
Otherwise, the most notable part of the cryo proof was a test of Starship SN11’s attitude control system (ACS) that involved firing each of the ship’s several cold-gas nitrogen thrusters at least 5-10 times for a total of several dozen bursts. The current generation of Starships mainly use those thrusters to augment their flaps and perform flip maneuvers during suborbital launch and landing attempts, while early orbital-class prototypes may use the same thruster system to control their attitude in the vacuum of space.
If last night’s cryo proof test was successful and gave SpaceX the data it needs to give SN11 a good bill of health, the Starship could potentially attempt its first Raptor engine static fire as early Friday, March 12th. Historically, SpaceX has never static fired a Starship prototype less than 12 days after its launch site arrival, meaning that a static fire tomorrow would smash the previous record by a factor of three. As such, it’s more likely that SN11 will need a day or two and be ready for a static fire attempt as early as Monday, March 15th.
I have received an “Alert” notice and a road closure has been scheduled for Friday, March 12 from 7 a.m. – noon. Possible static fire attempt of Starship SN11’s three Raptor engines as early as tomorrow. 🔥🚀🔥@NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/mRTuzsLoSz
— Mary (@BocaChicaGal) March 12, 2021
Either way, Starship SN11 is undeniably on a faster track than any of its three-engine predecessors and a clean static fire on Friday or Monday would leave a launch next week – SpaceX’s current target– well within reach.
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