{"dataset":{"slug":"rocket-engines","title":"Rocket Engines","description":"The engines that power the world's rockets, by combustion cycle and propellant.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":26,"sources":["nasa","esa"]},"entities":[{"id":"rocket_engine:aestus","name":"Aestus","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A restartable pressure-fed engine burning the storable hypergolic combination MMH/N2O4, used on the Ariane 5 EPS storable upper stage for precise orbit insertion.","entryPath":"/rockets/aestus"},{"id":"rocket_engine:be-3","name":"BE-3","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"Blue Origin's LH2/LOX engine — a combustion-tap-off variant (BE-3PM) powers the reusable New Shepard suborbital vehicle, and an upper-stage variant (BE-3U) flies on New Glenn.","entryPath":"/rockets/be-3"},{"id":"rocket_engine:be-4","name":"BE-4","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"Blue Origin's methane/LOX oxidizer-rich staged-combustion engine, which powers both the ULA Vulcan Centaur first stage and Blue Origin's own New Glenn booster.","entryPath":"/rockets/be-4"},{"id":"rocket_engine:ce-20","name":"CE-20","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"ISRO's indigenous LH2/LOX cryogenic upper-stage engine, which powers the C25 upper stage of the LVM3 (GSLV Mk III).","entryPath":"/rockets/ce-20"},{"id":"rocket_engine:f-1","name":"F-1","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"The RP-1/LOX engine of the Saturn V first stage — five clustered F-1s remain the most powerful single-chamber liquid engines ever flown, lifting Apollo off the pad.","entryPath":"/rockets/f-1"},{"id":"rocket_engine:hm7b","name":"HM7B","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A LH2/LOX upper-stage engine that powered the cryogenic upper stage (ESC-A) of Ariane 5 and earlier Ariane vehicles.","entryPath":"/rockets/hm7b"},{"id":"rocket_engine:j-2","name":"J-2","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"The restartable LH2/LOX engine of the Saturn V second and third stages and the Saturn IB second stage; its S-IVB restart sent Apollo crews toward the Moon.","entryPath":"/rockets/j-2"},{"id":"rocket_engine:le-7a","name":"LE-7A","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A LH2/LOX staged-combustion engine that powers the first stage of Japan's H-IIA and H-IIB launch vehicles.","entryPath":"/rockets/le-7a"},{"id":"rocket_engine:le-9","name":"LE-9","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A large LH2/LOX expander-bleed-cycle engine developed for the first stage of Japan's H3 rocket, chosen for reliability and lower cost.","entryPath":"/rockets/le-9"},{"id":"rocket_engine:lr-87","name":"LR-87","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"The hypergolic (Aerozine 50 / N2O4) first- and second-stage engines (LR-87 / LR-91) of the Titan II, III, and IV families, valued for storable-propellant readiness on ICBM-derived launchers.","entryPath":"/rockets/lr-87"},{"id":"rocket_engine:merlin-1d","name":"Merlin 1D","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"SpaceX's reusable RP-1/LOX gas-generator engine; nine power each Falcon 9 first stage and twenty-seven power the Falcon Heavy, with a vacuum variant on the upper stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/merlin-1d"},{"id":"rocket_engine:nk-15","name":"NK-15","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"The Kuznetsov oxidizer-rich staged-combustion RP-1/LOX engine that powered the Soviet N1 Moon rocket — thirty on the first stage alone — across its four failed launches.","entryPath":"/rockets/nk-15"},{"id":"rocket_engine:nk-33","name":"NK-33","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A lightweight high-performance oxidizer-rich staged-combustion RP-1/LOX engine developed in the Soviet N1 program for the upgraded (never-flown) N1F; refurbished units later flew (as the AJ-26) on the first-generation Antares.","entryPath":"/rockets/nk-33"},{"id":"rocket_engine:raptor","name":"Raptor","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"SpaceX's methane/LOX full-flow staged-combustion engine for Starship and its Super Heavy booster — one of very few full-flow engines ever flown, designed for rapid reuse. Thrust has risen across versions.","entryPath":"/rockets/raptor"},{"id":"rocket_engine:rd-107","name":"RD-107 / RD-108","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"The RP-1/LOX gas-generator engines of the R-7/Soyuz core and strap-on boosters — first flown in 1957 and, in evolved form, still launching crews to orbit.","entryPath":"/rockets/rd-107"},{"id":"rocket_engine:rd-170","name":"RD-170 / RD-171","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"The most powerful liquid-propellant rocket engine ever flown — a four-chamber oxidizer-rich staged-combustion RP-1/LOX engine used on the Energia boosters and (as the RD-171) the Zenit first stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/rd-170"},{"id":"rocket_engine:rd-180","name":"RD-180","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A Russian two-chamber oxidizer-rich staged-combustion RP-1/LOX engine (derived from the RD-170) that powered the Atlas V first stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/rd-180"},{"id":"rocket_engine:rl10","name":"RL10","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A long-serving expander-cycle LH2/LOX upper-stage engine (first flown in the 1960s) that powers the Centaur and DCSS upper stages and continues on Vulcan Centaur.","entryPath":"/rockets/rl10"},{"id":"rocket_engine:rs-25","name":"RS-25","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A reusable fuel-rich staged-combustion LH2/LOX engine developed for the Space Shuttle (as the SSME) and now expended on the SLS core stage; among the highest-efficiency hydrogen engines flown.","entryPath":"/rockets/rs-25"},{"id":"rocket_engine:rs-68","name":"RS-68","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A large LH2/LOX gas-generator engine developed for the Delta IV; designed for lower cost than the SSME, it powered the Delta IV and Delta IV Heavy cores.","entryPath":"/rockets/rs-68"},{"id":"rocket_engine:rutherford","name":"Rutherford","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"Rocket Lab's small RP-1/LOX engine — the first electric-pump-fed (battery-driven turbopump) engine to reach orbit; nine power the Electron first stage and one the second stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/rutherford"},{"id":"rocket_engine:vikas","name":"Vikas","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"ISRO's storable-propellant (UDMH/N2O4) engine, used across the PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3 liquid stages and strap-on boosters.","entryPath":"/rockets/vikas"},{"id":"rocket_engine:vinci","name":"Vinci","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"A restartable closed-expander-cycle LH2/LOX upper-stage engine developed for Ariane 6, enabling multiple burns for complex mission profiles.","entryPath":"/rockets/vinci"},{"id":"rocket_engine:vulcain-2","name":"Vulcain 2","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"The LH2/LOX gas-generator core engine of Ariane 5 (and, as Vulcain 2.1, of the Ariane 6 core stage).","entryPath":"/rockets/vulcain-2"},{"id":"rocket_engine:yf-100","name":"YF-100","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"China's kerosene/LOX oxidizer-rich staged-combustion engine, used in the boosters of Long March 5 and the cores of Long March 6/7.","entryPath":"/rockets/yf-100"},{"id":"rocket_engine:yf-77","name":"YF-77","type":"rocket_engine","domain":"science","description":"China's first large LH2/LOX engine, two of which power the Long March 5 core stage.","entryPath":"/rockets/yf-77"}]}