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Exhaust Velocity

GAS DYNAMICS CORE
JET DYNAMICS

EXHAUST VELOCITY

Drag/Touch to Rotate Gas Expansion Grid
EFFECTIVE EXIT VELOCITY (V_e)
0.0
METERS PER SECOND (M/S)
PERFORMANCE BOUNDARY STATUS:
INITIALIZING TELEMETRY ENGINE
Velocity Core Mach Number (Estimated Sea Level Air)Mach 0.00
Kinetic Energy per Unit Mass (KE_mass)0.00 MJ/kg

NEW HORIZONS MISSION CONTROL • AEROTHERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS LAB 2026


Pre-Calculated Exhaust Velocity

Rocket Engineering • ve / Effective Exhaust Velocity
Merlin 1D SL
SpaceX Merlin 1D sea-level exhaust velocity. LOX/RP-1 gas-generator cycle.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/RP-1
Merlin Vacuum
SpaceX Merlin Vacuum (MVac). Optimized high-expansion nozzle for upper stage.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/RP-1
Raptor Sea Level
SpaceX Raptor sea-level methalox engine. Full-flow staged combustion.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • CH₄/LOX
Raptor Vacuum
SpaceX Raptor Vacuum. High-performance vacuum-optimized methalox engine.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • CH₄/LOX
F-1 Engine
Rocketdyne F-1 (Saturn V). Most powerful single-chamber engine ever flown.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/RP-1
SSME / RS-25
Space Shuttle Main Engine vacuum exhaust velocity. Highest operational chemical Isp.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
RD-180
NPO Energomash RD-180. High-pressure oxidizer-rich staged combustion.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/RP-1
Vulcain 2
Ariane 5 Vulcain 2 vacuum exhaust velocity. European LOX/LH₂ first-stage engine.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
RL10 Vacuum
Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10. Classic high-performance expander-cycle upper stage.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
J-2
Rocketdyne J-2 (Saturn V upper stages). LOX/LH₂ vacuum exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
BE-4
Blue Origin BE-4 methalox engine. Used on New Glenn and Vulcan Centaur.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • CH₄/LOX
RS-68
Rocketdyne RS-68 sea-level exhaust velocity (Delta IV).
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/LH₂
RS-68 Vacuum
RS-68A vacuum-optimized performance with higher expansion ratio.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
LE-7A
Mitsubishi LE-7A sea-level exhaust velocity (H-IIA/H-IIB).
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/LH₂
LE-5B
Mitsubishi LE-5B vacuum exhaust velocity. High-performance Japanese upper stage.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
RD-107
Russian RD-107 (Soyuz boosters). Classic LOX/RP-1 multi-chamber engine.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/RP-1
RD-0120 Vac
Russian RD-0120 vacuum exhaust velocity. One of the highest chemical values.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
OMS Engine
Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System. Hypergolic NTO/MMH.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • NTO/MMH
AJ10
Aerojet AJ10 hypergolic engine. Apollo Service Module and Delta II upper stage.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • NTO/Aerozine
Solid Rocket Booster
Space Shuttle / SLS SRB average exhaust velocity (APCP propellant).
ve 0 m/s
Average • APCP
Solid Motor (Generic)
Typical APCP solid rocket motor exhaust velocity used on many launch vehicles.
ve 0 m/s
APCP • Average
BE-3U
Blue Origin BE-3U upper-stage vacuum exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
HM7B
Ariane 5 HM7B upper-stage exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • LOX/LH₂
Vulcain (Original)
Original Ariane 5 Vulcain sea-level exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/LH₂
RD-0120 SL
Russian RD-0120 sea-level exhaust velocity (Energia core).
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • LOX/LH₂
Castor 30
Orbital ATK Castor 30 solid motor vacuum exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Vacuum • APCP
GEM-60
Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM-60) average exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Average • APCP
Prometheus
ESA Prometheus reusable LOX/methane engine design exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Sea Level • CH₄/LOX
NSTAR Ion
NASA NSTAR electrostatic xenon ion thruster (Deep Space 1 / Dawn).
ve 0 m/s
Xenon Ion • Electric
Hall Thruster
Typical Hall-effect thruster exhaust velocity used on geostationary satellites.
ve 0 m/s
Xenon Hall • Station-keeping
NEXT Ion
NASA NEXT ion thruster. Advanced electrostatic xenon thruster.
ve 0 m/s
Xenon Ion • Electric
Hall SPT-100
Classic SPT-100 Hall-effect thruster exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Xenon Hall
DS4G Ion
Dual-Stage 4-Grid electrostatic ion thruster concept. Extremely high exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Xenon • Experimental
Nuclear Thermal
NERVA-class nuclear thermal rocket exhaust velocity with liquid hydrogen.
ve 0 m/s
Nuclear • LH₂
Nuclear (Advanced)
Advanced nuclear thermal concepts with higher chamber temperature.
ve 0 m/s
Nuclear Thermal • LH₂
VASIMR (High)
VASIMR high specific impulse mode. Variable plasma rocket exhaust velocity.
ve 0 m/s
Plasma • High Isp Mode
VASIMR (Low)
VASIMR lower specific impulse / higher thrust mode.
ve 0 m/s
Plasma • High Thrust Mode
Photonic (Ideal)
Theoretical pure photonic rocket (photon drive). Exhaust velocity = speed of light.
ve 0 m/s
c • Theoretical
Hypergolic (Typical)
Typical storable hypergolic bipropellant exhaust velocity (NTO/MMH or similar).
ve 0 m/s
Storable • Vacuum
LOX/LH₂ (Ideal Vac)
Near-ideal LOX/LH₂ vacuum exhaust velocity for high-expansion modern nozzles.
ve 0 m/s
Ideal • LOX/LH₂ Vacuum

Ve Vector

Exit Speed. Exhaust Velocity is the measure of Propulsion Efficiency. It determines if a rocket can break gravity or reach the stars.

  • 🔥 Chemical: High thrust, lower ve.
  • ⚛️ Ion Drive: Low thrust, extreme ve.
  • 📐 Nozzle: Shapes the gas to maximize exit speed.
🚀
🔥
💨
PROPULSION SCAN
VELOCITY 4.5km/s
SPECIFIC IMPULSE: 📈 HIGH
THRUST-SYNC ACTIVE ✅

I sp Metrics

Fuel Economy. Specific Impulse is the Time Dimension of thrust. It measures how long we can sustain push before the tank runs dry.

  • ⏱️ Time: Higher seconds = more "bang for your buck."
  • ⚖️ Gravity: To get velocity, multiply I sp by 9.8.
  • 🌌 Distance: High I sp is the key to Mars and beyond.
⏱️
EFFICIENCY SCAN
450s
FUEL: ❄️ LIQUID HYDROGEN
IMPULSE-SYNC ACTIVE ✅

Vector G

Constant Pull. Gravity is the Invisible Tether. It defines how high we jump, how fast things fall, and the thickness of our atmosphere. 🌍📉⚖️

  • ⚖️ Standard: 9.8m/s2 on Earth's surface.
  • 🌑 Moon: Only 1.6 m/s2 (Floaty vibes).
  • ⚛️ Force:F = m a (Mass times Gravity).
🍎
📉
GRAVIMETRIC SCAN
9.8 m/s²
PLANET: 🌍 EARTH-CORE
GRAVITY-SYNC ACTIVE ✅

Flow Rate

Propellant Throughput. Mass Flow is the Volume of Power. It defines how quickly you empty your tanks to fight against Earth's gravity.

  • 🚰 The Valve: Controls how many kg/s enter the chamber.
  • ⏲️ Burn Time: Higher mass flow = shorter total burn time.
  • 🌋 Pressure: Created by the expansion of the flowing mass.
💧
🔥
💧
📟
THROUGHPUT SCAN
2,500 kg/s
PUMP STATUS: 🚀 MAX THRUST
FLOW-SYNC ACTIVE ✅

Ve Vector

The Performance Metric. Effective Velocity is the True Speed of the exhaust gas relative to the rocket. It is the heartbeat of deep-space travel.

  • 🏁 Standard: Higher ve = Faster forward acceleration.
  • 🧪 Chemistry: Different fuels provide different ve limits.
  • 🌌 Deep Space: High ve is the only way to reach Mars efficiently.
🚀
PROPULSION EFFICIENCY
Ve: 4,400
UNIT: 🔭 m/s
VELOCITY-SYNC ACTIVE ✅

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