A dual-fuel, dual-mode rocket engine 60 is made by modifying a baseline single-mode booster engine 10. A second hydrogen propellant system 62, and a fuel mixer 68 is added to provide a means for delivering and mixing a hydrogen fuel 66 with the baseline engine hydrocarbon fuel 36 upstream of exhaust nozzle cooling jacket 38. A second dual-fuel, dual- mode rocket engine 61 is made by modifying a baseline single-mode main engine 11. A hydrocarbon propellant system 63, and a fuel mixer 69 is added to provide a means for delivering and mixing a methane fuel 67 with the baseline engine hydrogen fuel 23 upstream of exhaust nozzle cooling jacket 27. The resulting fuel mixture within both embodiments of the invention described above is utilized for thrust chamber fuel and exhaust nozzle cooling. The relative quantities of each fuel within the mixture vary to provide a progressively less dense mixture throughout a rocket flight.
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