RE-M3 "Mainsail" Liquid Fuel Engine

From Kerbal Space Program Wiki
Revision as of 06:55, 14 August 2012 by UmbralRaptor (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search

Template:Partbox

The LV-T30 Liquid Fuel Engine (Large) is used to provide thrust for larger rockets and lower stages. It is typically fueled by FL-T16 and FL-T32 Fuel Tanks.


Usage

The LV-T30 is the most common choice for lifting large stacks of FL-T32 fuel tanks into orbit and beyond, or propelling large heavy lift vehicles. As of 0.16, this is one of only two size 2 engines, and it is the highest thrust stock part by a factor of 3. The thrust vectoring Also gives it good pitch and yaw control authority, greatly easing first stage stability.

The TWR of this engine is almost the same as its size 1 counterpart, and above the LV-T45. However, the large LV-T30 suffers from a relatively low Isp -- approximately 11-13% below these two engines. Between these, and the even greater performance potentially offered by the aerospike, some builders forgo this engine entirely.

Description

Although criticized by some due to it's not unsignificant use of so-called "pieces found lying about", the LV-T series has proven itself as a comparatively reliable engine. The T30 model boasts a failure ratio below the 50% mark. This has been considered a major improvement over previous models by engineers and LV-T enthusiasts.

Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Spaceship Parts Co.

Changes

see also: Version History

v0.16
  • Part introduced.