World's First Battery-Powered Rocket
In the hopes of increasing the number of satellite launches to over 100 a year, the Rocket Lab company has developed a "battery-powered" rocket engine to lift its Electron launch vehicle. Rocket Lab's idea for making a lighter, simpler liquid rocket is its Rutherford engine. It's an electric turbo-pump engine that burns liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel. Unlike conventional engines, the Rutherford uses a gas-powered turbine to run the pump is replaced with a brush less DC motor and lithium polymer batteries. The company says that the Rutherford is also notable as the first oxygen/hydrocarbon engine to use 3D printing for all its primary components. Rocket Lab says that when the system is up and running, the Electron booster will be able to lift a payload into orbit using less fuel than a 737 flying from New York to Los Angeles, and will cost US$4.9 million per launch.
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