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Engine Origin Designer Vehicle Status Use Propellant Power cycle Specific impulse (s) [a] Thrust (N) [a] Chamber pressure (bar) Mass (kg) Thrust: weight ratio [b] Oxidiser: fuel ratio
For valid comparison of the initial thrust-to-weight ratio of two or more engines or vehicles, thrust must be measured under controlled conditions. Because an aircraft's weight can vary considerably, depending on factors such as munition load, fuel load, cargo weight, or even the weight of the pilot, the thrust-to-weight ratio is also variable ...
Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine, such as a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel, generates thrust. In general, this is a ratio of the impulse, i.e. change in momentum, per mass of propellant. This is equivalent to "thrust per massflow".
Similarly to jet engines, matching the exhaust speed and the vehicle speed gives optimum efficiency, in theory. However, in practice, this results in a very low specific impulse, causing much greater losses due to the need for exponentially larger masses of propellant. Unlike ducted engines, rockets give thrust even when the two speeds are equal.
SFC varies with throttle setting, altitude, climate. For jet engines, air flight speed is an important factor too. Air flight speed counteracts the jet's exhaust speed. (In an artificial and extreme case with the aircraft flying exactly at the exhaust speed, one can easily imagine why the jet's net thrust should be near zero.)
This comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all current and future individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list contains rockets that are operational or have attempted an orbital flight attempt as of 2024; a second list includes all upcoming rockets.
RS-68 being tested at NASA's Stennis Space Center Viking 5C rocket engine used on Ariane 1 through Ariane 4. A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellants stored inside the rocket.
The designation for a specific motor looks like C6-3.In this example, the letter (C) represents the total impulse range of the motor, the number (6) before the dash represents the average thrust in newtons, and the number (3) after the dash represents the delay in seconds from propelling charge burnout to the firing of the ejection charge (a gas generator composition, usually black powder ...