Rocket Lab Engine Section

This article is from: https://x.com/jason1730/status/1873763977903415401 All rights reserved.

$Rocket Lab(RKLB.US) To achieve great success, it relies on the Neutron rocket, which primarily depends on the Archimedes engine for success. The design of Archimedes is simpler compared to SpaceX's Raptor engine, emphasizing maintainability, reliability, and production efficiency. It uses an oxidizer-rich combustion cycle instead of a full-flow staged combustion cycle for efficiency and safety rather than maximum thrust.

The left image shows the $RKLB Archimedes engine, while the right image shows SpaceX's currently active main engine. The Neutron rocket's Stage 1 requires 9 Archimedes engines, Stage 2 requires one, while Starship requires 33 Raptor engines. The purpose of Raptor is to maximize thrust for grand space exploration plans, while Archimedes focuses on reliable, low-cost services for the medium launch market.

Left image as above

Right image as above

Comparing development efficiency: RKLB's Archimedes engine development began at the end of 2021, completed its first full assembly and started testing by mid-2024, with hot fire testing completed in August of the same year, and launch testing planned for mid-2025. Bezos's unlimited budget Blue Origin BE-4 development started in 2011, undergoing 9 years of testing and development, with the BE-4 engine completing its first full-duration combustion test in 2020.

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To be continued, I will move a bit more when I have time