Raptor 3 is engineering black magic
SpaceX’s Raptor is the FIRST full-flow staged combustion engine to ever fly - only the 3rd ever built (after the Soviet RD-270 and the 2000s US demo that never flew)
→ Both fuel-rich + oxidizer-rich preburners
→ 100% of propellant through the turbines before the main chamber
→ Auto-ignites from hot preburner gases (no Merlin igniter fluid)
→ Record 350 bar chamber pressure
Raptor 3 goes even crazier:
Everything internalized with regenerative cooling. No heat shields. No fire suppression system. Saves 10+ tons
This is how Starship becomes rapidly reusable
SPACE ECONOMY CHEAT SHEET
A SpaceX IPO likely forces the market to look beyond rockets and start repricing the full supply chain and infrastructure layer beneath the space economy:
Spacecraft & Launch Systems
• $YSS manufactures standardized satellite buses for rapid deployment
• $RKLB builds launch vehicles, spacecraft systems & broader orbital infrastructure
• $VOYG supplies space infrastructure & in-space services for government programs
• $LUNR provides lunar landers & surface delivery systems tied to NASA Artemis missions
• $FLY develops launch vehicles & lunar lander services for commercial & government missions
• $RDW manufactures spacecraft components, deployable structures & in-space manufacturing systems
Satellite Operators & Services
• $BKSY provides real-time geospatial intelligence & high-revisit satellite imagery
• $IRDM operates the only truly global LEO satellite network covering the entire planet
• $SPIR delivers satellite-based data & analytics across maritime, weather & RF monitoring
• $AMZN building a direct-to-device & broadband satellite network through Project Kuiper + $GSAT assets
• $PL operates the largest Earth observation constellation serving commercial, defense & intelligence customers
• $ASTS building a space-based cellular broadband network for D2D connectivity with BlueBird 7 launching April 19 & 45-60 satellites targeted by year-end 2026
Raw Materials & Mining
• $AA supplies aluminum used in launch vehicles & spacecraft structure
• $FCX provides copper that feeds power systems & electronics across the space stack
• $TECK offers diversified exposure to critical minerals tied to aerospace & industrial buildout
• $MP controls the only scaled rare earth mining & processing asset in the U.S. supporting satellite & propulsion supply chains
Specialty Materials & Alloys
• $ATI produces titanium & nickel alloys critical to propulsion & aerospace systems
• $HXL makes carbon fiber composites used in launch vehicles & satellite structures
• $PKE manufactures advanced composite materials for aerospace & defense structures
• $CRS supplies high-performance alloys used in rocket engines & spacecraft component
• $GLW supplies specialty glass & optical components for satellite communications & sensing
• $MTRN provides advanced materials & precision components for defense and space systems
Electronics & Semiconductors
• $QRVO supplies RF chips & filter components for satellite communications payloads
• $LITE supplies optical components & lasers used in high-speed communications links
• $ADI supplies precision analog & sensing chips used across satellite and launch systems
• $COHR provides lasers & optical components tied to satellite & communications systems
• $NVDA provides AI compute infrastructure for satellite data processing & autonomous systems
• $STM provides semiconductors for guidance, control & communications in space-grade applications
• $AVGO supplies connectivity & networking semiconductors used across communications infrastructure