Engine Thrust Chamber Assembly

When the fuel reaches the thrust chamber, it is directed through 102 coolant channels in the combustion chamber wall, providing regenerative cooling to the combustion chamber walls, and then to the injector of the engine. The oxidizer is routed directly to the injector. The platelet injector assembly consists of a stack of plates, each with an etched pattern that provides proper distribution and propellant injection velocity vector. The stack is diffusion-bonded and welded to the body of the injector. The fuel and oxidizer orifices are positioned so that the propellants will impinge and atomize, causing the fuel and oxidizer to ignite because of hypergolic reaction.

The contoured nozzle extension is bolted to the aft flange of the combustion chamber. The nozzle extension is made of a columbium alloy and is radiantly cooled.

The nominal flow rate of oxidizer and fuel to each engine is 11.93 pounds per second and 7.23 pounds per second, respectively, producing 6,000 pounds of thrust at a vacuum specific impulse of 313 seconds.