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> there is currently an ongoing industry-wide exodus from hydrogen to methane for the same reason. Exodus seems a bit of an overstatement. Other than spacex wh
by le-mark 3y ago
> there is currently an ongoing industry-wide exodus from hydrogen to methane for the same reason.
Exodus seems a bit of an overstatement. Other than spacex who else has or is planning to develop a methane engine? And other than SSME and Vulcain which other widely used engines used H2?
- Karellen 3y ago> who else has or is planning to develop a methane engine? BO's New Glenn first stage, RocketLab's Neutron, and Relativity Space's Terran 1/Terran R, are all/will all be methane. > which other widely used engines used H2? Ariane 5 and 6, and the upper stages of previous Ariane rockets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_propellant#Current_cryogenic_types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_propellant#Current_cryo... Edit: Long March 9 will be mostly methane, with hydrogen upper stage.
- Tuna-Fish 3y agoWhat Karellen said, but also ArianeSpace (Prometheus) and Landspace (TQ-12). It is very hard for a hydrogen-fueled rocket to be cost-competitive against a methane-fueled one. Not strictly because of the cost of the fuel, but because of the cost of everything else that LH requires that LCH4 doesn't.