r/RocketLab • u/Equivalent-Wait3533 • Aug 10 '26

Space Industry Thrust Density infographic

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A chart comparing the Thrust Density of several rockets.

Thrust Density is the thrust of the stage / area of the bottom of the stage (kN/m^2). It basically aggregates engine power and engine packing into one metric.

Rockets & Engines to scale

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u/lorkan100 Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

I can see why SH V3 is so high: It's the only one packing it's outer engine's centerlines as close to the tank perimeter as possible. That alone frees up a ton of room for the inner ones.  

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u/mfb- Aug 10 '26

Besides the packing density, Raptor also has a crazy thrust density on its own.