Country of origin | Japan |
---|---|
Designer | JAXA |
Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
Application | Booster |
Status | Succeeded by LE-7A upgrade |
Liquid-fuel engine | |
Propellant | LOX / LH2 |
Mixture ratio | 5.9:1 |
Cycle | Staged combustion |
Configuration | |
Chamber | 1 |
Nozzle ratio | 52:1 |
Performance | |
Thrust, vacuum | 1,078 kN (242,000 lbf) |
Thrust, sea-level | 843.5 kN (189,600 lbf) |
Thrust-to-weight ratio | 64.13 |
Chamber pressure | 12.7 MPa (1,840 psi) |
Specific impulse, vacuum | 446 seconds (4.37 km/s) |
Specific impulse, sea-level | 349 seconds (3.42 km/s) |
Dimensions | |
Length | 3.4 m |
Dry mass | 1,714 kg (3,779 lb) |
Used in | |
H-II first stage |
The LE-7 and its succeeding upgrade model the LE-7A are staged combustion cycle LH2/LOX liquid rocket engines produced in Japan for the H-II series of launch vehicles. Design and production work was all done domestically in Japan, the first major (main/first-stage) liquid rocket engine with that claim, in a collaborative effort from the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), Aerospace Engineering Laboratory (NAL), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Ishikawajima-Harima. NASDA and NAL have since been integrated into JAXA. However, a large part of the work was contracted to Mitsubishi, with Ishikawajima-Harima providing turbomachinery, and the engine is often referred to as the Mitsubishi LE-7(A).
The original LE-7 was an expendable, high efficiency, medium-sized motor with sufficient thrust for use on the H-II.