Re: What can be done -- engine with 295:1 thrust/weight

At 09:08 PM 1/25/2004 -0800, you wrote:
>     This engine, developed by Rocketdyne for BMD, is the subject of a brief
>article in AW&ST, 12 January 2004, page 44.
>
>     Thrust:     1,100 lbf
>     Length:     8 inches
>     Chamber P: ~500psi
>     Fuel:       N2O4 & MMH
>     Nozzle:     Metal, coated, rad-cooled
>
>Chris W

Yes, very impressive.

The engines on our vehicle now only have a T/W of 35, even when operated at 
fairly high pressure.  We do count the valve in the engine weight, which is 
fairly significant.  We could double this T/W without heroic effort, but 
going much beyond that would be hard with a catalyst based motor.

John Carmack