LAUNCHER ENGINE-2

The world’s highest performance liquid rocket engine for small launchers

Launcher Engine-2 will be the highest performance engine in the small satellite launcher class—with the largest thrust, lowest propellant consumption and lowest cost-per-pound of thrust.

Generating 22,000 lbf of thrust (97.8 kN), a single Engine-2 liquid rocket engine will power the first stage of Launcher Light.

Engine-2, or E-2, is also available for sale to commercial and government customers for integration with their own launch vehicles.

E-2 will reach its high-performance target by applying orbit-proven engine architecture, 3D printing in copper alloy, and the 30+ years of experience of Launcher’s Chief Designer with the highest performance oxidizer rich staged combustion engines.

E-2 is currently in active development, with more than 100 tests of the sub-scale Engine-1 validating its path to industry-leading performance levels.

Our first full-scale test-fire of the E-2 injector and combustion chamber took place at Launcher’s test stand at NASA Stennis Space Center in October 2020. Longer duration tests of the thrust chamber assembly are scheduled for Q3 2021.

Launcher successfully tested its E-2 Liquid oxygen turbopump in April 2021 at NASA Stennis Space Center.

PROVEN DESIGN CHOICES:

• Kerosene (RP-1) & liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants

• Closed cycle (oxidizer rich staged combustion)

• High combustion pressure (1,400psi)

• Optimal oxidizer / fuel mixture ratio (2.62)

• Unique dual-propellant cooling (liquid oxygen for the throat and cylinder, kerosene for nozzle)

• Copper alloy as combustion chamber material (CuCrZr)

• Licensed orbit-proven liquid oxygen pump design

• Performance: 365s specific impulse (Second stage nozzle). First stage nozzle - 327s vacuum, 290s sea level

3D PRINTED IN COPPER ALLOY

• Reduces cost, complexity and manufacturing lead time for most parts, including the combustion chamber, injector and turbopump.

• World’s largest single part 3D printed combustion chamber, leveraging a custom printer by our partners EOS & AMCM. Printing in a single piece reduces costs and enables highest performance regenerative cooling design.

SUB-SCALE TESTING

• Before scaling to the full-size E-2 engine, Launcher is proving its design and 3D printed materials on the sub-scale version Engine-1, or E-1. Launcher has performed over 100 tests of E-1 at our dedicated test site.

• Thanks to Launcher’s design, the use of 3D printed copper alloy, and our unique liquid oxygen cooling system, our E-1 sub-scale engine is so efficient (over 98%) that it produces a blue exhaust plume—unprecedented for kerosene engines.

• Proven for over 15 minutes of test time at the highest performance combustion mixture ratio between liquid oxygen and kerosene - 2.62.

• Proven in both kerosene cooled and liquid oxygen cooled version.