Rocketdyne F-1A Engine

The Rocketdyne F-1A Engine is an IV tier multiblock for generating power from rocket fuels. There is no hard limit to the amount of EU/t it can produce, but there are soft caps that reduce the efficiency of the fuel as more is added. The Rocketdyne requires 1,000 L/h of carbon dioxide and 1% of the current EU/t in air per second. The latter may only be supplied through air intake hatches. Optionally, also supply 0.3% of the current EU/t in liquid hydrogen per second to triple the soft caps and carbon dioxide consumption. The Rocketdyne has an initial warm-up period similar to large turbines that takes approximately 90 seconds to reach maximum efficiency. Save on fuel by automatically toggling the Rocketdyne with an RS latch connected to a Lapotronic Supercapacitor. The Rocketdyne is immediately superseded by the Universal Chemical Fuel Engine which can also generate power from rocket fuel although much more efficiently and without soft caps.

Spreadsheet: GTNH Power Planner 2.9

The Rocketdyne has no tiered components. The maintenance, input, and air intake hatches are limited to the center casings on the sides of the structure, the dynamo hatch is limited to the center casings on the top of the structure, and the muffler hatch is limited to the center casing on the back of the structure. At least one air intake hatch is mandatory since air cannot be supplied through an input hatch. Multi-amp and laser dynamo hatches are supported and there can even be multiple if necessary. They do not all have to be the same voltage tier. Use the Multiblock Structure Hologram Projector to visualize/build the structure.

Structure

• Controller: Front center, 2nd layer
• 62-76 Turbodyne Casing
• 8 Inconel Reinforced Casing
• 1+ Air Intake Hatch: Any center casing
• 1+ Dynamo Hatch: Any top center casing
• 1 Maintenance Hatch: Any center casing
• 1 Muffler Hatch: Back center casing
• 1+ Input Hatch: Any side or bottom center casing

Wallsharing

Rocketdynes may wallshare each of their sides to save on casings. The restriction on the buses/hatches makes it impossible to share them without transvector interfaces or similar remote access blocks. The only exception is the maintenance hatch but even that would require stopping/breaking the machine to fix any maintenance issues.

The Rocketdyne generates power from rocket fuels. There are only four options available and they are all made in the ExxonMobil Chemical Plant. Cetane-boosted diesel may function as rocket fuel in actual Rockets but the Rocketdyne does not support it. The densities (EU/L) of the four rocket fuels are listed in the following table and are directly proportional to the power output of the machine.

The Rocketdyne consumes 90% of the rocket fuel in its input hatch(es) every second to generate power. The minimum input rate is 5 L/s, but there is no hard limit on the total amount of fuel consumed and therefore no hard limit on the amount of EU/t that the machine can produce. However, there are two soft caps or thresholds that reduce the energy efficiency of the rocket fuel once surpassed. The soft caps occur at 49k EU/t and 94k EU/t regardless of the rocket fuel being used (unboosted).

In addition to rocket fuel, the Rocketdyne requires the following fluids to function properly. Notice that carbon dioxide has a fixed value while the air and liquid hydrogen values scale with the power output of the machine. The liquid hydrogen is optional but highly recommended if operating above the first soft cap because it greatly boosts the efficiency of the rocket fuel.

• Carbon Dioxide - 1L every 72 ticks (1000 L/h).
• Air - 1% of the current EU/t. Only taken from air intake hatches.
• Liquid Hydrogen - 0.3% of the current EU/t. Triples the soft cap thresholds and carbon dioxide consumption (OPTIONAL).

The amount of power produced (EU/t) depends on the input rate (L/s) and the density (EU/L) of the rocket fuel, as seen in the following equations. They are all fairly similar and the variations only exist because of the soft caps. There is no bracketing--only one equation is ever used instead of being split up between the soft cap thresholds.

The Rocketdyne has an initial warm-up period similar to large turbines. More specifically, the "efficiency" of the Rocketdyne increases every second while the machine is active based on the current EU/t value, as seen in the following equation. The maximum efficiency value depends on the energy value from earlier. View the current efficiency by using a Portable Scanner on the controller or by looking at the efficiency value in WAILA. The efficiency resets almost immediately while the machine is idle. The efficiency value itself is simply a multiplier equivalent to the total energy input and does NOT increase the EU/L of the rocket fuels. It takes between 60-180 seconds to reach maximum efficiency--higher EU/t is faster.

The following tables provide some example calculations for reference. Notice that the power generated between boosted and unboosted is the same until above the first soft cap. Only then does the boosted Rocketdyne produce significantly more power. The H is specifically liquid hydrogen and is only needed if the Rocketdyne is boosted. Use the planner linked at the top for custom calculations.