SuperDraco

SuperDraco

SuperDraco rocket engines at SpaceX Hawthorne facility
Country of origin	United States
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Application	LAS (Launch Abort System), powered landing
Status	Development
Liquid-fuel engine
Propellant	NTO / MMH
Cycle	pressure fed
Performance
Thrust (SL)	71,000 newtons (16,000 lbf)
Chamber pressure	6,900 kilopascals (1,000 psi)
Isp (SL)	235s
Burn time	25 seconds
Propellant capacity	1,388 kg (3,060 lbs)
Used in
Dragon V2, DragonFly test vehicle

SuperDraco is a hypergolic propellant liquid rocket engine designed and built by SpaceX. It is part of SpaceX's Draco family of rocket engines. A redundant array of eight SuperDraco engines provides fault-tolerant propulsion for use as a launch escape system and propulsive-landing thrust for the Dragon V2 passenger-carrying space capsule.

SuperDraco rocket engines utilize a storable (non-cryogenic) propellant which allows the engines to be fired many months after fueling and launch.

The engines will be used on crew transport flights to low Earth orbit, and are also projected to be used for entry, descent and landing control of the proposed Red Dragon robotic probe to Mars.

SuperDracos will be used on both the Dragon V2 crew- and cargo-transporting space capsule as well as on the DragonFly suborbital test rocket, a prototype low-altitude reusable rocket that will be used for flight testing various aspects of the propulsive-landing technology. While the engine is capable of 73,000 newtons (16,400 lbf) of thrust, during use for DragonFly testing, the engines will be throttled to 68,170 newtons (15,325 lbf) to maintain vehicle stability.