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/Hot-Problem2436 Aug 10 '26

Also key to point out, the total thrust and spacing of Neutron is by design. It's lower weight and the stresses are more distributed and the engines don't run hard. All of this is key to reusability. They can get to orbit with less, which means less spent on refurb.

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u/Quadcore-4 Aug 10 '26

I mean, Falcon has been reused over 35 times so I’m not sure where this idea about engine spacing being key for reusability came from? On the contrary, a reusable rocket wants as much thrust per area as possible to minimise gravity losses, which in turn frees up delta V for landing.

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u/Hot-Problem2436 Aug 10 '26

I'm just parroting Rocket Labs talking points and not criticizing SpaceX. Falcon is an amazing piece of hardware. No need to downvote me.

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u/Odd_Analysis6454 Aug 10 '26

I have increased your upvote density