The TR-107 was a developmental rocket engine designed in 2002 by Northrop Grumman for the NASA and DoD-funded Space Launch Initiative (SLI). Operating on LOX/RP-1, the engine was throttleable and had a thrust of at a chamber pressure of , making it one of the most powerful engines ever constructed.

History

The TR-107 was developed by TRW following the successful conclusion of the development program for the TR-106 engine, a similar throttleable engine of about half the thrust burning LOX/LH2 instead of LOX / RP-1. Tom Mueller, then VP of Propulsion Development at Northrop, was project manager for both the TR-106 and TR-107 engines.

In 2002, Mueller co-founded SpaceX with Elon Musk and became the VP of propulsion after cancellation of the SLI program.

Status Northrop Grumman development of the TR-107 engine permitted consideration for potential use on next-generation launch and space transportation systems.

, no flight models are known to exist.

See also Rocketdyne F-1 SpaceX Merlin SpaceX Raptor

References

External links Booster Engine Prototype Project: TR107 Engine Component Technologies TR-107 Rendering with explanations SLI Prototype engines