An arcjet rocket or arcjet thruster is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion, in which an electrical discharge (arc) is created in a flow of propellant. This imparts additional energy to the propellant, so that one can extract more work out of each kilogram of propellant, at the expense of increased power consumption and (usually) higher cost. Also, the thrust levels available from typically used arcjet engines are very low compared with chemical engines.
A tripropellant rocket is a rocket that uses three propellants, as opposed to the more common bipropellant rocket or monopropellant rocket designs, which use two or one propellants, respectively. Tripropellant systems can be designed to have high specific impulse and have been investigated for single-stage-to-orbit designs. While tripropellant engines have been tested by Rocketdyne and Energomash, no tripropellant rocket has been flown.
The Centaur is a family of rocket propelled upper stages that has been in use since 1962. It is currently produced by U.S. launch service provider United Launch Alliance, with one main active version and one version under development. The 3.05 m (10.0 ft) diameter Common Centaur/Centaur III flies as the upper stage of the Atlas V launch vehicle, and the 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter Centaur V has been developed as the upper stage of ULA's new Vulcan rocket. Centaur was the first rocket stage to use liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, a high-energy combination that is ideal for upper stages but has significant handling difficulties.
Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles, and semi trucks. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, and H.B. Pushee as The General Tire & Rubber Company using funding from Michael O'Neil, William Francis O'Neills' father, who owned Akron's O'Neil's Department Store. The company later diversified by 1984 into a conglomerate with holdings in tire manufacturing, rubber compounds, rocketry and aeronautics (Aerojet), and broadcasting.
Rocketdyne was an American rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, in the western San Fernando Valley of suburban Los Angeles, in southern California.
The Saturn IB(also known as the uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It uprated the Saturn I by replacing the S-IV second stage, with the S-IVB. The S-IB first stage also increased the S-I baseline's thrust from 1,500,000 pounds-force (6,700,000 N) to 1,600,000 pounds-force (7,100,000 N) and propellant load by 3.1%. This increased the Saturn I's low Earth orbit payload capability from 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) to 46,000 pounds (21,000 kg), enough for early flight tests of a half-fueled Apollo command and service module (CSM) or a fully fueled Apollo Lunar Module (LM), before the larger Saturn V needed for lunar flight was ready.
The Rocketdyne H-1 was a 205,000 lbf (910 kN) thrust liquid-propellant rocket engine burning LOX and RP-1. The H-1 was developed for use in the S-I and S-IB first stages of the Saturn I and Saturn IB rockets, respectively, where it was used in clusters of eight engines. After the Apollo program, surplus H-1 engines were rebranded and reworked as the Rocketdyne RS-27 engine with first usage on the Delta 2000 series in 1974. RS-27 engines continued to be used up until 1992 when the first version of the Delta II, Delta 6000, was retired. The RS-27A variant, boasting slightly upgraded performance, was also used on the later Delta II and Delta III rockets, with the former flying until 2018.
The RL10 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine built in the United States by Aerojet Rocketdyne that burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Modern versions produce up to 110 kN (24,729 lbf) of thrust per engine in vacuum. Three RL10 versions are in production for the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V and the DCSS of the Delta IV. Three more versions are in development for the Exploration Upper Stage of the Space Launch System and the Centaur V of the Vulcan rocket.
The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 is a liquid-fuel rocket engine that uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. It is the largest hydrogen-fueled rocket engine ever flown.
The staged combustion cycle is a power cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine. In the staged combustion cycle, propellant flows through multiple combustion chambers, and is thus combusted in stages. The main advantage relative to other rocket engine power cycles is high fuel efficiency, measured through specific impulse, while its main disadvantage is engineering complexity.
The gas-generator cycle, also called open cycle, is one of the most commonly used power cycles in bipropellant liquid rocket engines. Part of the unburned propellant is burned in a gas generator and the resulting hot gas is used to power the propellant pumps before being exhausted overboard, and lost. Because of this loss, this type of engine is termed open cycle.
Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. In 2013, Aerojet was merged by GenCorp with the former Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to form Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The RD-180 is a rocket engine designed and built in Russia. It features a dual combustion chamber, dual-nozzle design and is fueled by a RP-1/LOX mixture. The RD-180 is derived from the RD-170/RD-171 line of rocket engines, which were used in the Soviet Energia launch vehicle. The engine was developed for use on the US Atlas III and Atlas V launch vehicles and first flew in 2000. It was never used on any other rocket. The engine has flown successfully on all six Atlas III flights and on 87 Atlas V flights, with no failures.
The Space Launch Initiative (SLI) was a NASA and U.S. Department of Defense joint research and technology project to determine the requirements to meet all the nation's hypersonics, space launch and space technology needs. It was also known as the second generation Reusable Launch Vehicle program, after the failure of the first. The program began with the award of RLV study contracts in 2000.
The LR87 was an American liquid-propellant rocket engine used on the first stages of Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch vehicles. Composed of twin motors with separate combustion chambers and turbopump machinery, it is considered a single unit and was never flown as a single combustion chamber engine or designed for this. The LR87 first flew in 1959.
The Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) was a proposed liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen upper-stage for use on a number of different launch vehicles produced by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance (ULA). During the last five years of the program, ACES was proposed for eventual use on the Vulcan space launch vehicle designed by the U.S. company United Launch Alliance. The ACES concept had the objective to improve the on-orbit lifespan of current upper stages.
The Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS) is a family of cryogenic rocket stages used on the Delta III and Delta IV rockets, and on the Space Launch System Block 1. The stage consists of a cylindrical liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank structurally separated from an oblate spheroid liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. The LH2 tank cylinder carries payload launch loads, while the LOX tank and engine are suspended below within the rocket's inter-stage. The stage is powered by a single Aerojet Rocketdyne-Pratt & Whitney RL10B-2 engine, which features an extendable carbon-carbon nozzle to improve specific impulse.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) was an American company that designed and produced rocket engines that use liquid propellants. It was a division of Pratt & Whitney, a fully owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation. It was headquartered in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California. In 2013, the company was sold to GenCorp, becoming part of Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The Aerojet Rocketdyne AR1 is a 2,200-kilonewton-class (500,000 lbf) thrust RP-1/LOX oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle rocket engine project.
The MARC-60, also known as MB-60, MB-XX, and RS-73, is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine designed as a collaborative effort by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and US' Aerojet Rocketdyne. The engine burns cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in an open expander cycle, driving the turbopumps with waste heat from the main combustion process.
US$2.24 billion (2022)
US$145 million (2022)
