Difference between revisions of "CR-7 R.A.P.I.E.R. Engine"

Revision as of 05:33, 31 May 2015

CR-7 R.A.P.I.E.R. Engine
Hybrid engine by C7 Aerospace Divisionand Rockomax Conglomerate
Radial size		Small
Cost	(total)	6 000.00
Mass	(total)	2.000 t
Drag		0.2
Max. Temp.		2000 K
Impact Tolerance		20 m/s
Research		Aerospace Tech
Unlock cost		35 000
Since version		0.23
Part configuration		rapierEngine.cfg
Maximum thrust		105.00 kN
Isp	(max)	3200 s
Fuel consumption		0.67 /s
Intake air consumption		4.02 /s
Thrust vectoring		3 °
Maximum thrust	(1 atm)	162.30 kN
	(vacuum)	180.00 kN
Isp	(1 atm)	275 s
	(vacuum)	305 s
Fuel consumption		12.04 /s
Thrust vectoring		3 °
Testing Environments
On the surface		Yes
In the ocean		Yes
On the launchpad		Yes
In the atmosphere		Yes
Sub-orbital		Yes
In an orbit		Yes
On an escape		Yes
Docked		No
Test by staging		Yes
Manually testable		Yes

The R.A.P.I.E.R. Engine (Reactive Alternate-Propellent Intelligent Engine for Rockets) is a hybrid engine. It can change between an airbreathing jet and a liquid fuel engine. It has the feature to auto adjust, changing between jet and rocket mode automatically when it runs out of intake air. This engine is an in-game counterpart of the real life SABRE engine, which is also visible in the naming as both are named after swords.

This is the first stock engine which has multiple engines incorporated into one part (four in this case).

This is the first engine which has two different manufacturers. Prior to 0.24 one of the manufacturers seems to be misspelled. Instead of Rockomax Conglomerate an o was missing attributing it to the Rockmax Conglomerate. However, the description text used the common spelling and the manufacturer entry was fixed in 0.24.

Usage

This engine has two modes of operation. An AirBreathing mode in which it runs on liquid fuel and intake air like a jet engine and a ClosedCycle mode in which it runs on liquid fuel and oxidizer like a rocket engine. The air-breathing mode is far more fuel-efficient and delivers slightly more thrust, but just like normal jet engines it only works in the atmospheres of Kerbin or Laythe.

The engine can either be set to switch automatically to closed-cycle when the intake air runs out or it can be switched manually between the two modes.

The hybrid feature makes this engine especially useful for single-stage-to-orbit designs. The engine has less efficiency than comparable jet or rocket engines, but because it can switch between modes, it may be a better choice than a Toroidal Aerospike Rocket for orbital insertion. This engine is one of the few engines that do not provide electric charge when active, another example being the LV-909 engine.

The R.A.P.I.E.R Engine has a very low maximum specific impulse in its air breathing mode compared to other jet engines. It is not an optimal choice for long range cruising type jets. It has a high specific impulse in rocket mode however.

Product description

Changes

1.0

• Mass increased from 1.2 to 2.0; cost increased from 3600 to 6000; maximum jet thrust reduced from 190 to 140; maximum liquid fuel thrust increased from 175 to 180.

0.24

• Cost decreased from 5900 to 3600 (and made meaningful), manufacturer name fixed, mass decreased from 1.75 to 1.2

0.23

• Initial release