Staged combustion liquid rocket engine cycle with the turbopump unit and preburner integrated into the structure of the combustion chamber

A liquid rocket engine (LRE) comprising:

• a fuel supply line containing a fuel;
• an oxidizer supply line containing an oxidizer;
• an oxidizer throttle receiving the oxidizer from the oxidizer supply line and splitting the oxidizer supply line into a first partial oxidizer supply line, a second partial oxidizer supply line, and a third partial oxidizer supply line;
• a turbine mounted to a turbine shaft along a longitudinal centerline of the LRE at a longitudinal proximal location of the LRE, the turbine rotating with the turbine shaft about the longitudinal centerline;
• a gas duct positioned longitudinally distal to the turbine and in fluid communication with the turbine;
• a main combustion chamber positioned longitudinally distal to the gas duct, having an injector head in fluid communication with both the gas duct and the second partial oxidizer supply line;
• a nozzle positioned longitudinally distal to the main combustion chamber and in fluid communication with the main combustion chamber;
• a preburner combustion chamber positioned axially distal to the main combustion chamber, having a preburner injector head in fluid communication with both the first cooling manifold and second cooling manifold;
• a first cooling manifold positioned axially distal to the nozzle and in fluid communication with the fuel supply line;
• a second cooling manifold positioned axially between the preburner combustion chamber and the main combustion chamber, the second cooling manifold in fluid communication with the first partial oxidizer supply line;
• and
• a third cooling manifold positioned longitudinally distal to the preburner combustion chamber and in fluid communication with the third partial oxidizer supply line and a nozzle throat of the nozzle;
• wherein:
• the fuel received by the first cooling manifold from the fuel supply line becomes a gasified fuel during transport due to thermal energy transfer from the nozzle, the gasified fuel is supplied to the preburner injector head;
• the oxidizer received by the second cooling manifold from the first partial oxidizer supply line becomes a gasified oxidizer due to thermal energy received from at least one of the gas duct, the main combustion chamber, and the preburner combustion chamber, the gasified oxidizer supplied to the preburner injector head;
• the preburner injector head injects the gasified fuel with the gasified oxidizer to create preburner combustion exhaust products which flow from the preburner combustion chamber to the turbine and drive the turbine about the turbine shaft, the preburner combustion exhaust products flowing from the turbine to the gas duct;
• and
• the main combustion chamber injector head injects the preburner combustion exhaust products received from the gas duct with oxidizer received from the second partial oxidizer supply line to produce an LRE thrust directed through the nozzle exit.