Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
If you’ve been following the rapid growth of the space industry, you know how much influence a few major players have had over the last decade. One company, in particular, has been setting the pace with new technologies, ambitious goals, and a track record of actually delivering on them. As a result, their designs have become the standard others try to match. This trend has led to a growing number of rockets, spacecraft, and components around the world that bear a striking resemblance to what’s already flying from their launchpads. And recently, one of the most advanced rocket engines they’ve ever built appears to have been recreated overseas.
This story begins with SpaceX’s Raptor 3 — an engine built to push the company’s Starship program into its next phase. While most rocket engines go through long lifespans with only gradual improvements, SpaceX has gone through three major versions of Raptor in just a few years. Raptor 3 is the result of streamlining almost every part of the system: higher thrust, fewer complex parts, and faster production. It’s meant to be powerful enough for deep-space missions while also being efficient to build, maintain, and reuse.
Now, a new engine has surfaced in China that closely matches the Raptor 3 in both size and layout. It’s called Mammoth 1, and it’s being developed by a company named Star Shuttle Technology — though some materials show them using the name Arct. This firm is relatively new to the industry, and until recently, very little was known about them. The choice of the name Mammoth 1 hints that this is only the beginning and that a line of engines may follow.
If you’ve been following the rapid growth of the space industry, you know how much influence a few major players have had over the last decade. One company, in particular, has been setting the pace with new technologies, ambitious goals, and a track record of actually delivering on them. As a result, their designs have become the standard others try to match. This trend has led to a growing number of rockets, spacecraft, and components around the world that bear a striking resemblance to what’s already flying from their launchpads. And recently, one of the most advanced rocket engines they’ve ever built appears to have been recreated overseas.
This story begins with SpaceX’s Raptor 3 — an engine built to push the company’s Starship program into its next phase. While most rocket engines go through long lifespans with only gradual improvements, SpaceX has gone through three major versions of Raptor in just a few years. Raptor 3 is the result of streamlining almost every part of the system: higher thrust, fewer complex parts, and faster production. It’s meant to be powerful enough for deep-space missions while also being efficient to build, maintain, and reuse.
Now, a new engine has surfaced in China that closely matches the Raptor 3 in both size and layout. It’s called Mammoth 1, and it’s being developed by a company named Star Shuttle Technology — though some materials show them using the name Arct. This firm is relatively new to the industry, and until recently, very little was known about them. The choice of the name Mammoth 1 hints that this is only the beginning and that a line of engines may follow.
