RL10

E52128

RL10 is a family of high-performance, liquid hydrogen–liquid oxygen cryogenic rocket engines developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne and widely used on U.S. upper stages such as Centaur and Delta IV.

Aliases (4)

Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf cryogenic rocket engine
rocket engine family
application civil space missions
commercial satellite launches
military space missions
combustionChamberType regeneratively cooled
countryOfOrigin United States
cycleType expander cycle
developer Pratt & Whitney
firstFlight 1963
fuel liquid hydrogen
gimbalCapability yes
heritage early U.S. hydrogen engine research programs
laterDeveloper Aerojet Rocketdyne
manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne
notableFeature first liquid hydrogen rocket engine to fly
notableUse Atlas V missions
Delta IV missions
historic Centaur missions
oxidizer liquid oxygen
propellantType liquid hydrogen
liquid oxygen
propulsionType liquid-fueled rocket engine
restartCapability multiple in-space restarts
specificImpulseVacuum approximately 450 seconds
status operational
technology hydrogen-oxygen cryogenic technology
thrustVacuum approximately 110 kN
usedBy NASA
U.S. Department of Defense
United Launch Alliance
usedFor interplanetary injection
orbital insertion
trans-lunar injection
upper stage propulsion
usedOn Atlas V Centaur upper stage
Centaur upper stage
Delta IV upper stage
Saturn I upper stage
Saturn IB upper stage
Vulcan Centaur upper stage
variant RL10A-3
RL10A-4
RL10A-4-2
RL10B-2
RL10C-1
RL10C-2


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