RL-10
Also known as RL10
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 of thrust per engine in vacuum. RL10 versions were produced for the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V and the DCSS of the Delta IV. More versions are in development or in use for the Exploration Upper Stage of the Space Launch System and the Centaur V of the Vulcan rocket.
Key facts
- Rocket engine.name
- RL10
- Rocket engine.image
- RL-10 rocket engine (30432256313).jpg
- Rocket engine.image_size
- 250
- Rocket engine.caption
- An RL10A-4 engine in London's Science Museum
- Rocket engine.country_of_origin
- United States
- Rocket engine.first_date
- (RL10A-1)
- Rocket engine.manufacturer
- Aerojet Rocketdyne
- Rocket engine.purpose
- Upper stage engine
- Rocket engine.associated
- AtlasDelta IIIDelta IVSaturn ISLSTitan IIIETitan IVVulcan CentaurCanceled: DC-XOmegAShuttle-CentaurEUS
- Rocket engine.status
- In production
- Rocket engine.type
- liquid
- Rocket engine.oxidiser
Article
15 sectionsContents
- History
- Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine
- Early 2010s possible successor
- Improvements
- Applications
- Current
- In development
- Cancelled
- Table of versions
- Gallery
- Engines on display
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
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 of thrust per engine in vacuum. RL10 versions were produced for the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V and the DCSS of the Delta IV. More versions are in development or in use for the Exploration Upper Stage of the Space Launch System and the Centaur V of the Vulcan rocket.
The expander cycle that the engine uses drives the turbopump with waste heat absorbed by the engine combustion chamber, throat, and nozzle. This, combined with the hydrogen fuel, leads to very high specific impulses (Isp) in the range of in a vacuum. Mass ranges from depending on the version of the engine.