Rocket Lab's engine has electric turbos and 3D-printed primary components

Re:Rocket Lab's engine has electric turbos and 3D-printed pr... by Sanddancer on Saturday April 18, 2015 @05:08PM (#9401049)

Turbopumps powered by rocket fuel require quite a bit of plumbing and design work; you're essentially building a second rocket motor to drive the bigger one. By using an electric turbopump, you just need a place to put the motor and batteries, which is a lot more simple in comparison.

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Re:Rocket Lab's engine has electric turbos and 3D-printed pr... by david-given on Saturday April 18, 2015 @05:21PM (#9401105)

Here's an article about test firing a Saturn V turbopump power plant:

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/01/saturn-v-moon-rocket-...

Yes, the turbopump is run off its own rocket engine --- which drove a 40MW turbine, which ran a pump that could push three tonnes of rocket fuel a second.

Admittedly, the Saturn V was a little bit bigger than this rocket's going to be, and had special needs, but it goes to show that rocket fuel powered turbopumps are scary.

(Incidentally, SpaceX use a rocket fuel powered turbopump for the Falcon 9. I believe the scary-looking plume of flame that comes out sideways is the exhaust. It's a mere 2MW. Per engine.)

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