Vacuum Archimedes
Rocket Lab’s Vacuum Archimedes is the extended-nozzle, vacuum-optimized liquid-methane/liquid-oxygen oxidizer-rich staged-combustion variant under development for Neutron’s second stage. Rocket Lab’s Neutron guide specifies one restartable 900 kN vacuum engine with turbopump feed and 65% minimum throttle; the canonical graph preserves the exact one-engine upper-stage installation.
Identity
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- variant
- Kind
- liquid-rocket-engine
- Name
- Vacuum Archimedes
- Status
- development
Details
- Description
- Rocket Lab’s Vacuum Archimedes is the extended-nozzle, vacuum-optimized liquid-methane/liquid-oxygen oxidizer-rich staged-combustion variant under development for Neutron’s second stage. Rocket Lab’s Neutron guide specifies one restartable 900 kN vacuum engine with turbopump feed and 65% minimum throttle; the canonical graph preserves the exact one-engine upper-stage installation.
- Developers
- Family
- Manufacturers
- Propellants
- liquid methaneliquid oxygen
- Rocket Specs
- Cycle
- oxidizer-rich staged combustion
- Vacuum Thrust Kn
- 900
Links
- Official Url
- https://rocketlabcorp.com/launch/neutron/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 08:21:06 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 15, 2026 at 01:50:30 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- Rocket Lab’s Neutron Payload User Guide identifies Archimedes Vacuum as a vacuum-optimized oxidizer-rich staged-combustion liquid-methane/liquid-oxygen engine, specifies one second-stage engine at 900 kN total vacuum thrust, turbopump feed, 65% minimum throttle, and restart capability.
- Publisher
- Rocket Lab
- Title
- Neutron Payload User Guide v1.0
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- Rocket Lab documents Archimedes engine testing and production at its Engine Development Complex for Neutron.
- Publisher
- Rocket Lab
- Title
- Q3 2024 Earnings Presentation — Archimedes engine test campaign