RE-M3 "Mainsail" Liquid Fuel Engine
| RE-M3 "Mainsail" Liquid Fuel Engine | ||
 | ||
| Liquid fuel engine by Rockomax Conglomerate | ||
| Radial size | Large | |
| Cost | (total) | 13 000.00 
|
| Mass | (total) | 6.000 t |
| Drag | 0.2 | |
| Max. Temp. | 2000 K | |
| Impact Tolerance | 7 m/s | |
| Research |  Heavier Rocketry
| |
| Unlock cost | 38 000
| |
| Since version | 0.16 | |
| Part configuration | liquidEngineMainsail_v2.cfg | |
| Maximum thrust | (1 atm) | 1 379.03 kN |
| (vacuum) | 1 500.00 kN | |
| Isp | (1 atm) | 285 s |
| (vacuum) | 310 s | |
| Fuel consumption | 98.68  /s
| |
| Thrust vectoring | 2 ° | |
| Electricity generated | 12.0 ⚡/s | |
| 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 Rockomax "Mainsail" Liquid Engine is used to provide thrust for larger rockets and lower stages. It is typically fueled by large diameter Liquid Fuel Tanks like the Rockomax X200-32 Fuel Tank.
Usage
The Mainsail is the most common choice for lifting large stacks of liquid fuel tanks into orbit and beyond, or propelling large heavy lift vehicles. As of 0.20, this is one of three size 2 engines, and it is the highest thrust stock part. The thrust vectoring also gives it good pitch and yaw control, greatly easing first stage stability, though care must be taken to not allow S.A.S. to tear the ship apart. The high thrust of this engine, combined with thrust vectoring (TVC) can destroy poorly built rockets in the middle of ascents. Throttling down is often recommended.
The Thrust-to-Weight ratio of this engine is excellent. However, the Mainsail suffers from a rather low specific impulse, especially in a vacuum.
The Mainsail also tends to quickly explode from overheating when run on maximum throttle and placed under a Rockomax Jumbo-64 Fuel Tank, where it will overheat within 5-15 seconds of maximum thrust, so be careful not to use maximum throttle on a Mainsail unless it is attached to a gray tank. Overheat-safe throttle levels are about 85%.[outdated]
Description
| “ | A monster of an engine for heavy lifting purposes, the Mainsail's power rivals that of entire small nations. — Rockomax Conglomerate |
” |
Changes
- (Undocumented) Renamed, thrust increased (1200 -> 1500), weight decreased (7 -> 6), new description
- Initial Release
