Fission Engines
Sterling Systems provides an alternative baseline NTR for three reasons:
- The real NERV engine had a design flaw which caused it to have low propellant flow rate, therefore, low thrust. SULEU as a concept is not only parallel to the concept of the NERV but it also is proven to dodge the need for weapons grade reactor fuel, therefore, the name.
- The in-game engine was setup to not immediately render any of the stock chemical rockets obsolete. But...that's the entire point of unlocking it.
- Many mods have patches for the stock part. It is a good idea to avoid overlapping and conflicting with those mods.
Stats
| Item | Mass | Thrust | Isp Vac | Isp ASL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling SULEU 0.625m | 1.45 t | 136 kN | 930 s | 232.5 s |
| Sterling SULEU 1.25m | 3.2 t | 300 kN | 930 s | 232.5 s |
| Sterling SULEU 1.875m | 7.2 t | 675 kN | 930 s | 232.5 s |
| Stock NERV 1.25m | 3 t | 60 kN | 800 s | 185 s |
Keeping the reactor fuel from melting is boring so we let it. But then we weren't satisfied so we even went beyond, and we vaporized it.
Stats
| Item | Mass | Thrust | Isp Vac | Isp ASL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling IPE-GC "Slim" (Closed Cycle) | 30 t | 2100 kN | 2080 s | 520 s |
| Sterling IPE-GC "Tiny" (Open Cycle) | 24 t | 3000 kN | 5097 s | 1270 s |