RL60
| Country of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Pratt and Whitney |
| Liquid-fuel engine | |
| Propellant | LOX / LH2 |
| Mixture ratio | 4.5 to 6.2 |
| Cycle | expander |
| Performance | |
| Thrust (SL) | 200 - 250 kN (50,000 - 65,000 lbf) |
| Thrust-to-weight ratio | 59 |
| Isp (vac.) | 465 seconds (4.56 km/s) |
The RL60 (also called MB-60) is a rocket engine under development by Pratt and Whitney. The design is a high energy LH2/LOX expander cycle, capable of multiple restarts in space.
In 2003, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne had 90% of the work completed for the new RL-60 replacement of the RL-10.[1] The RL60 cryogenic upper stage engine is designed to produce 60,000 pounds of thrust with a specific impulse of 465 seconds (4.56 km/s) to meet the evolving needs of expendable launch requirements or human-rated missions. The RL60 was to be built and tested domestically with key components to be provided by four international industry strategic suppliers; Volvo Aero of Sweden (Regen cooled nozzle), Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) of Japan (Fuel Turbopump), Techspace Aero of Belgium (Fuel Inlet and LOX control valve) and Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (CADB) of Russia (LOX Turbopump).
NexGen Propulsion Study
NASA is partnering with the US Air Force (USAF) to study next-generation upper stage propulsion, formalizing the agencies joint interests in a new upper stage engine to replace the venerable Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10.
"We know the list price on an RL-10. If you look at cost over time, a very large portion of the unit cost of the EELVs is attributable to the propulsion systems, and the RL-10 is a very old engine, and there's a lot of craftwork associated with its manufacture," says Dale Thomas, associate director of technical issues at NASA Marshall. "That's what this study will figure out, is it worthwhile to build an RL-10 replacement?"
From the study, NASA hopes to find a less expensive RL10-class engine for a third stage of the Space Launch System (SLS), which is on track to become the most powerful rocket ever built. Atop the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME)-powered first stage and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X second stage, a third stage is required to push massive payloads beyond Earth orbit.[2]
References
- ↑ "Pratt & Whitney's RL60 Moves Closer to Completion" (Press release). Pratt & Whitney. April 22, 2003. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
- ↑ Roseberg, Zach (April 12, 2012). "NASA, US Air Force to study joint rocket engine". Flight Global. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
External links
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