RS-68
Sign in to saveAlso known as Rocket System 68
The RS-68 (Rocket System-68) was a liquid-fuel rocket engine that used liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants in a gas-generator cycle. It was the largest hydrogen-fueled rocket engine ever flown.
Key facts
- Rocket engine.image
- RS-68 rocket engine test.jpg
- Rocket engine.caption
- An RS-68 engine undergoing hot-fire testing at NASA's Stennis Space Center during its developmental phase.
- Rocket engine.name
- RS-68
- Rocket engine.purpose
- First stage engine
- Rocket engine.associated
- Delta IVDelta IV Heavy
- Rocket engine.country_of_origin
- United States
- Rocket engine.thrust_to_weight
- RS-68: 45.3:1RS-68A: 47.4:1
- Rocket engine.specific_impulse_vacuum
- RS-68: RS-68A:
- Rocket engine.dry_weight
- RS-68: RS-68A:
- Rocket engine.designer
- Rocketdyne
- Rocket engine.type
- liquid
- Rocket engine.status
- Retired
- Rocket engine.oxidiser
- LOX
- Rocket engine.cycle
- Gas-generator
- Rocket engine.nozzle_ratio
- 21.5:1
- Rocket engine.thrust(SL)
- RS-68: RS-68A:
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- RS-68 rocket engine test.jpg
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- Commons category
- RS-68 (rocket engine)
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Article
7 sectionsContents
- Design and development
- Proposed uses
- Human-rating
- Variants
- See also
- References
- External links
The RS-68 (Rocket System-68) was a liquid-fuel rocket engine that used liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants in a gas-generator cycle. It was the largest hydrogen-fueled rocket engine ever flown.
Designed and manufactured in the United States by Rocketdyne (later Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Aerojet Rocketdyne). Development started in the 1990s with the goal of producing a simpler, less costly, heavy-lift engine for the Delta IV launch system. Two versions of the engine have been produced: the original RS-68 and the improved RS-68A. A third version, the RS-68B, was planned for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ares V rocket before the cancellation of the rocket and the Constellation Program in 2010.