dsc46477.jpg

Various views of the regenerative cooling tubes making up the engine's thrust chamber.

Picture 4 of 7.

Detail of the regenerative cooling tube return manifold.

In a regenerative thrust chamber cooling design, fuel is typically pumped down every other tube. When it arrives at the bottom "lip" of the thrust chamber, it enters a return manifold where the fuel is then routed up the other tube and then sent to the combustion chamber.

For a detail of the return manifold on the exterior of the thrust chamber, see dsc46473.jpg.