Engine

Some of the Parts returned by LIST PARTS will be of type Engine. It is also possible to get just the Engine parts by executing LIST ENGINES, for example:

LIST ENGINES IN myVariable.
FOR eng IN myVariable {
    print "An engine exists with ISP = " + eng:ISP.
}.
structure Engine
Members
Suffix Type (units) Description
All suffixes of Part    
ACTIVATE   Turn engine on
SHUTDOWN   Turn engine off
THRUSTLIMIT scalar (%) Tweaked thrust limit
MAXTHRUST scalar (kN) Untweaked thrust limit
MAXTHRUSTAT(pressure) scalar (kN) Max thrust at the specified pressure (in standard Kerbin atmospheres).
THRUST scalar (kN) Current thrust
AVAILABLETHRUST scalar (kN) Available thrust at full throttle accounting for thrust limiter
AVAILABLETHRUSTAT(pressure) scalar (kN) Available thrust at the specified pressure (in standard Kerbin atmospheres).
FUELFLOW scalar (l/s maybe) Rate of fuel burn
ISP scalar Specific impulse
ISPAT(pressure) scalar Specific impulse at the given pressure (in standard Kerbin atmospheres).
VACUUMISP scalar Vacuum specific impulse
VISP scalar Synonym for VACUUMISP
SEALEVELISP scalar Specific impulse at Kerbin sealevel
SLISP scalar Synonym for SEALEVELISP
FLAMEOUT boolean Check if no more fuel
IGNITION boolean Check if engine is active
ALLOWRESTART boolean Check if engine can be reactivated
ALLOWSHUTDOWN boolean Check if engine can be shutdown
THROTTLELOCK boolean Check if throttle can not be changed

Note

Engine is a type of Part, and therefore can use all the suffixes of Part. Shown below are only the suffixes that are unique to Engine.

Engine:ACTIVATE()

Call to make the engine turn on.

Engine:SHUTDOWN()

Call to make the engine turn off.

Engine:THRUSTLIMIT
Access:Get/Set
Type:scalar (%)

If this an engine with a thrust limiter (tweakable) enabled, what percentage is it limited to?

Engine:MAXTHRUST
Access:Get only
Type:scalar (kN)

How much thrust would this engine give at its current atmospheric pressure and velocity if the throttle was max at 1.0, and the thrust limiter was max at 100%. Note this might not be the engine’s actual max thrust it could have under other air pressure conditions. Some engines have a very different value for MAXTHRUST in vacuum as opposed to at sea level pressure. Also, some jet engines have a very different value for MAXTHRUST depending on how fast they are currently being rammed through the air.

Engine:MAXTHRUSTAT(pressure)
Parameters:
  • pressure – atmospheric pressure (in standard Kerbin atmospheres)
Return type:

scalar (kN)

How much thrust would this engine give if both the throttle and thrust limtier was max at the current velocity, and at the given atmospheric pressure. Use a pressure of 0.0 for vacuum, and 1.0 for sea level (on Kerbin) (or more than 1 for thicker atmospheres like on Eve).

Engine:THRUST
Access:Get only
Type:scalar (kN)

How much thrust is this engine giving at this very moment.

Engine:AVAILABLETHRUST
Access:Get only
Type:scalar (kN)

Taking into account the thrust limiter tweakable setting, how much thrust would this engine give if the throttle was max at its current thrust limit setting and atmospheric pressure and velocity conditions.

Engine:AVAILABLETHRUSTAT(pressure)
Parameters:
  • pressure – atmospheric pressure (in standard Kerbin atmospheres)
Return type:

scalar (kN)

Taking into account the thrust limiter tweakable setting, how much thrust would this engine give if the throttle was max at its current thrust limit setting and velocity, but at a different atmospheric pressure you pass into it. The pressure is measured in ATM’s, meaning 0.0 is a vacuum, 1.0 is seal level at Kerbin.

Engine:FUELFLOW
Access:Get only
Type:scalar (Liters/s? maybe)

Rate at which fuel is being burned. Not sure what the units are.

Engine:ISP
Access:Get only
Type:scalar

Specific impulse

Engine:ISPAT(pressure)
Parameters:
  • pressure – atmospheric pressure (in standard Kerbin atmospheres)
Return type:

scalar

Specific impulse at the given atmospheric pressure. Use a pressure of 0 for vacuum, and 1 for sea level (on Kerbin).

Engine:VACUUMISP
Access:Get only
Type:scalar

Vacuum specific impulse

Engine:VISP
Access:Get only
Type:scalar

Synonym for :VACUUMISP

Engine:SEALEVELISP
Access:Get only
Type:scalar

Specific impulse at Kerbin sealevel.

Engine:SLISP
Access:Get only
Type:scalar

Synonym for :SEALEVELISP

Engine:FLAMEOUT
Access:Get only
Type:boolean

Is this engine failed because it is starved of a resource (liquidfuel, oxidizer, oxygen)?

Engine:IGNITION
Access:Get only
Type:boolean

Has this engine been ignited? If both Engine:IGNITION and Engine:FLAMEOUT are true, that means the engine could start up again immediately if more resources were made available to it.

Engine:ALLOWRESTART
Access:Get only
Type:boolean

Is this an engine that can be started again? Usually True, but false for solid boosters.

Engine:ALLOWSHUTDOWN
Access:Get only
Type:boolean

Is this an engine that can be shut off once started? Usually True, but false for solid boosters.

Engine:THROTTLELOCK
Access:Get only
Type:boolean

Is this an engine that is stuck at a fixed throttle? (i.e. solid boosters)