Liquid-propellant rocket

A rocket engine that stores fuel and oxidizer as liquids and feeds them into a combustion chamber, where their reaction produces thrust.

Combustion chamber: A vessel where fuel and oxidizer react to produce hot, pressurized gas. It is where the engine’s liquid propellants release the energy that drives exhaust.
Rocket propellant: A substance or combination of substances expelled by a rocket to produce thrust. Liquid fuel and oxidizer are the engine’s two-part propellant supply.
Cryogenic rocket engine: A liquid rocket engine that uses cryogenic propellants, kept at extremely low temperatures. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen power efficient upper stages and launch vehicles.
Solid-propellant rocket: A rocket motor containing fuel and oxidizer mixed into a solid grain that burns after ignition. Solid motors are simpler to store and operate but are generally harder to throttle or shut down.
Rocket nozzle: A shaped passage that accelerates exhaust gas and converts its pressure into directed thrust. Its expansion of combustion gas turns chamber pressure into a high-speed exhaust jet.
Oxidizer: A substance that enables a fuel to release energy through oxidation, without requiring atmospheric oxygen. Carried oxidizer lets the engine burn fuel beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
Hypergolic propellant: A fuel and oxidizer combination that ignites spontaneously when the two liquids contact. Reliable spontaneous ignition suits spacecraft engines that must restart after long coast periods.
Hybrid rocket: A rocket motor using propellants in different phases, commonly a solid fuel and liquid oxidizer. Hybrid propulsion combines a solid fuel grain with liquid oxidizer feed.
Turbopump: A high-speed pump assembly that moves liquid propellants from tanks into an engine. It supplies propellants at the high pressures needed for chamber injection.
Specific impulse: A measure of rocket-engine efficiency defined as thrust per unit propellant weight flow. It compares how effectively different liquid-engine propellant combinations use propellant.

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