Rutherford Vacuum
Rutherford Vacuum is the vacuum-optimized version of Rocket Lab’s electric-pump-fed liquid-oxygen/kerosene engine. One engine powers Electron’s second stage, compared with the nine sea-level Rutherford engines on the first stage. Its expanded nozzle is adapted to operation at low ambient pressure. Rocket Lab’s published second-stage ratings are 25.8 kN thrust and 343 s specific impulse; the August 2020 update gives the equivalent thrust as 5,800 lbf. Batteries and electric motors power the propellant pumps.
Identity
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- variant
- Kind
- liquid-rocket-engine
- Name
- Rutherford Vacuum
- Status
- active
Details
- Description
- Rutherford Vacuum is the vacuum-optimized version of Rocket Lab’s electric-pump-fed liquid-oxygen/kerosene engine. One engine powers Electron’s second stage, compared with the nine sea-level Rutherford engines on the first stage. Its expanded nozzle is adapted to operation at low ambient pressure. Rocket Lab’s published second-stage ratings are 25.8 kN thrust and 343 s specific impulse; the August 2020 update gives the equivalent thrust as 5,800 lbf. Batteries and electric motors power the propellant pumps.
- Developers
- Family
- Lineage
- Note
- Rocket Lab describes the second-stage engine as a vacuum-optimized Rutherford with an expanded nozzle.
- Related Propulsion System
- Relationship
- shares-core-with
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Publisher
- Rocket Lab
- Title
- Electron
- Manufacturers
- Propellants
- keroseneliquid oxygen
- Rocket Specs
- Cycle
- electric-pump-fed
- Vacuum Specific Impulse
- …
- Vacuum Thrust
- …
Links
- Official Url
- https://rocketlabcorp.com/launch/electron/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 08:54:50 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 15:19:37 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Note
- Supports the legacy vehicle installation and the narrow canonical identity used for migration.
- Publisher
- Official vehicle or program source
- Title
- Electron official vehicle reference
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Note
- Supports the legacy vehicle installation and the narrow canonical identity used for migration.
- Publisher
- Official vehicle or program source
- Title
- HASTE official vehicle reference
- Accessed Date
- 2026-10-29
- Note
- Exact second-stage installation: one vacuum Rutherford engine, 25.8 kN thrust and 343 s specific impulse.
- Publisher
- Rocket Lab
- Title
- Electron
- Accessed Date
- 2026-10-29
- Note
- 4 August 2020 release: 35 kg engine mass, development and initial firing in 2013, 5,600 lbf sea-level thrust and 311 s specific impulse for first-stage engines; 5,800 lbf and 343 s for the vacuum version. 5,600 lbf converts to 24.910 kN.
- Publisher
- Rocket Lab
- Title
- Rocket Lab Increases Electron Payload Capacity, Enabling Interplanetary Missions and Reusability