The Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine, also known as CECE, completes the fourth and final series of hot-fire tests on a 15,000-pound thrust class cryogenic technology demonstrator rocket engine, increasing the throttling capability by 35 percent over previous tests. This test series demonstrated this engine could go from a thrust range of 104 percent power down to 5.9 percent. This equates to an unprecedented 17.6:1 deep-throttling capability, which means this cryogenic engine can quickly throttle up and down.
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This rocket engine is fuelled by a mixture of -182.8 Celsius liquid <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Oxygen" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> and -252.8 Celsius liquid <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a>. The engine components are super-cooled to similar low temperatures. As CECE burns its frigid fuels, gas composed of hot steam is produced and propelled out the nozzle creating thrust. The steam is cooled by the cold engine nozzle, condensing and eventually freezing at the nozzle exit to form <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Icicle" title="Icicle">icicles</a>.
NASA
2010-07-08
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