RD-180
 RD-180 test firing, November 4, 1998 at the Marshall Space Flight Center Advanced Engine Test Facility. | |
| Country of origin | Russia |
|---|---|
| Date | 1999 y |
| Designer | NPO Energomash |
| Manufacturer | NPO Energomash |
| Application | Booster |
| Predecessor | RD-170 |
| Status | In use |
| Liquid-fuel engine | |
| Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
| Cycle | Staged combustion |
| Configuration | |
| Chamber | 2 |
| Nozzle ratio | 36.87 |
| Performance | |
| Thrust, vacuum | 933,400 lbf (4.15 MN) |
| Thrust, sea-level | 860,568 lbf (3,83 MN) |
| Thrust-to-weight ratio | 78.44 |
| Chamber pressure | 3,868 psia (26.7 MPa, 266.8 bar) |
| Specific impulse, vacuum | 338 sec (3,313 N·s/kg) |
| Specific impulse, sea-level | 311 sec (3,053 N·s/kg) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 140 in (3.56 m) |
| Diameter | 124 in (3.15 m) |
| Dry weight | 12,081 lb (5,480 kg) |
The RD-180 (РД-180, Ракетный Двигатель-180, Rocket Engine-180) is a dual-combustion chamber, dual nozzle, Russian-developed rocket engine, derived from the RD-170 used in Zenit rockets. Like the four chamber RD-170, the combustion chambers of the RD-180 share a single turbopump unit. Rights to employ the RD-180 were acquired by General Dynamics Space Systems Division (later purchased by Lockheed Martin) in the early 1990s for use in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) and the Atlas program. As these programs were conceived to support United States government launches as well as commercial launches, it was arranged for the RD-180 to be co-produced by Pratt & Whitney. All production to date has been in Russia. The engine is currently sold by a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney and NPO Energomash (the Russian developer and builder) called RD AMROSS.
The RD-180 is fueled by a kerosene / LOX mixture and uses an extremely efficient, high-pressure staged combustion cycle. The engine (and its progenitor the RD-170) is unique in that it employs a LOX-rich preburner, unlike typical fuel rich US designs. The thermodynamics of the cycle allow a LOX-rich preburner to be more powerful per unit weight, but with the drawback that high pressure, high temperature gaseous Oxygen must be transported throughout the engine. The movements of its nozzles are controlled by four hydraulic actuators. It is a very large engine and is quite sturdy.
The RD-180 was first deployed on the Atlas IIA-R vehicle, which was the Atlas IIA vehicle with the Russian (hence the R) engine replacing the previous main engine. This vehicle was later renamed the Atlas III. An additional development program was undertaken to certify the engine for use on the modular Common Core Booster primary stage of the Atlas V rocket.
As an additional note, the RD-180 engine which was initially used for structural tank testing and frequency response testing at the Lockheed Martin Astronautics main plant in Denver was also displayed at the 23rd G8 summit meeting at which US President Clinton and the Russian president Boris Yeltsin met.
Specifications
Besides general specifications given in table it is worth to be pointed out that oxidizer to fuel ratio for engine comprises 2.72 and throttle range is within 40-100%.
See also
- RD-170 progenitor engine
- Staged combustion cycle used in engine
- RD-0124 used in the Soyuz-2.1b
- RD-107 used in the R-7 Semyorka missiles and Soyuz FG
- RD-170 used in the Energia launch vehicle and variant RD-171 used in the Zenit rocket
- RD-191 being developed for the Angara rocket
- RD-58 used in the N-1 rocket, derivatives used in the Proton and Zenit rockets
- RD-8 used in the Zenit rocket
External links
- Pratt and Whitney official RD-180 page
- Astronautix.com page on RD-180
- RD-180 page (in Russian) at NPO Energomash
- RD-180 specifications and design (in Russian)
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