Part 2/8:
Chemical rockets, the backbone of space exploration thus far, work on the principle of thrust generated by the combustion of propellants and oxidizers, which can be in solid or liquid formats. The Raptor engines employed by SpaceX represent an advancement in this field, utilizing methane and liquid oxygen to achieve higher thrust-to-weight ratios than their predecessors. However, these chemical propulsion systems have inherent limitations, primarily in exhaust velocity, which dictates how effectively they can propel spacecraft over long distances.