View source for Template:Specific impulse examples

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|+ Specific impulse of various propulsion technologies
! Engine
! Effective exhaust velocity (m/s)
! data-sort-type=number|Specific impulse (s)
! Exhaust specific energy (MJ/kg)
|-
|[[Turbofan|Turbofan jet engine]] (''actual'' V is ~300&nbsp;m/s)<!-- n.b. the effective exhaust velocity number gives how fast the *propellant* alone would have to go to give the same thrust; it is only *approximately* physically meaningful even for rockets, but much less so for airbreathing which 'cheat' by using the air :-) -->
|29,000
|3,000
|data-sort-value=0.05| {{abbr|Approx.|Approximately}} 0.05 
|-
|[[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster#Propellant|Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster]]
|2,500
|250
|3
|-
|[[Liquid oxygen]]&ndash;[[liquid hydrogen]]
|4,400
|450
|9.7
|-
|[[NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness|NSTAR]]<ref name='NSTAR performance'>{{cite conference |title=In-flight performance of the NSTAR ion propulsion system on the Deep Space One mission |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3868954_In-flight_performance_of_the_NSTAR_ion_propulsion_system_on_theDeep_Space_One_mission |conference=Aerospace Conference Proceedings |publisher=IEEExplore |year=2000 |doi=10.1109/AERO.2000.878373 }}</ref> electrostatic xenon ion thruster
|20,000&ndash;30,000
|1,950&ndash;3,100
|
|-
|[[NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster|NEXT]] electrostatic xenon ion thruster
|40,000
|1,320&ndash;4,170
|
|-
|[[Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket|VASIMR]] predictions<ref>{{cite web|title=Principal VASIMR Results and Present Objectives |url=http://www.adastrarocket.com/TimSTAIF2005.pdf|first=Tim W. |last=Glover|first2=Franklin R. |last2=Chang Diaz |first4=Verlin |last4=Jacobsen|first5=D. Gregory |last5=Chavers|first6= Mark D. |last6=Carter|first3=Jared P. |last3=Squire}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=VASIMR R Performance Results|url=http://www.adastrarocket.com/AIAA-2010-6772-196_small.pdf|website=www.adastra.com |first=Leonard D. |last=Cassady |first2=Benjamin W. |last2=Longmier |first3=Chris S. |last3=Olsen|first4=Maxwell G. |last4=Ballenger|first5=Greg E. |last5=McCaskill|first6=Andrew V. |last6=Ilin|first7= Mark D. |last7=Carter|first8=Tim W. |last8=Gloverk|first9=Jared P. |last9=Squire|first10=Franklin R. |last10=Chang |first11=Edgar A. |last11=Bering, III|date=28 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spacefellowship.com/news/art24083/vasimr-vx-200-meets-full-power-efficiency-milestone.html|title=Vasimr VX 200 meets full power efficiency milestone|access-date=2021-05-13|website=spacefellowship.com}}</ref>
|30,000–120,000
|3,000–12,000
|1,400
|-
|[[Dual-Stage 4-Grid|DS4G electrostatic ion thruster]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/25070-esa-and-australian-team-develop-breakthrough-in-space-propulsion|title=ESA and Australian team develop breakthrough in space propulsion|website=cordis.europa.eu|date=18 January 2006}}</ref>
|210,000
|21,400
|22,500
|-
|Ideal [[Photon rocket|photonic rocket]]{{efn|name=ideal|A hypothetical device doing perfect conversion of mass to photons emitted perfectly aligned so as to be antiparallel to the desired thrust vector.  This represents the theoretical upper limit for propulsion relying strictly on onboard fuel and the rocket principle.}}
|[[Speed of light|299,792,458]]
|30,570,000
|89,875,517,874
|}<noinclude>
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