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RD-170
Soviet (now Russian) rocket engine, the most powerful in the world / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"RD-175" redirects here. For the Minolta RD-175, see Minolta RD-175.
The RD-170 (Russian: Ракетный Двигатель-170 (РД-170), romanized: Raketnyy Dvigatel-170, lit. 'Rocket Engine-170') is the world's most powerful and heaviest liquid-fuel rocket engine. It was designed and produced in the Soviet Union by NPO Energomash for use with the Energia launch vehicle. The engine burns kerosene fuel and LOX oxidizer in four combustion chambers, all supplied by one single-shaft, single-turbine turbopump rated at 170 MW (230,000 hp) in a staged combustion cycle.[3][5]
Quick Facts Country of origin, First flight ...
![]() Model of an RD-170 rocket engine, shown upside down | |
Country of origin | ![]() |
---|---|
First flight | 13 April 1985 (1985-04-13) |
Last flight | 15 November 1988 (1988-11-15) |
Designer | NPO Energomash |
Manufacturer | NPO Energomash |
Application | Main engine |
Associated LV | Energia |
Successor | RD-180 · RD-191 |
Status | Retired |
Liquid-fuel engine | |
Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
Mixture ratio | 2.63 |
Cycle | Oxidizer-rich staged combustion |
Configuration | |
Chamber | 4 |
Nozzle ratio | 36.87 |
Performance | |
Thrust, vacuum | 7,900 kN (1,800,000 lbf) |
Thrust, sea-level | 7,250 kN (1,630,000 lbf) |
Throttle range | 40–100% |
Thrust-to-weight ratio | 82:1 |
Chamber pressure | 24.52 MPa (3,556 psi) |
Specific impulse, vacuum | 337 s (3.30 km/s) |
Specific impulse, sea-level | 309 s (3.03 km/s) |
Burn time | 150 seconds |
Dimensions | |
Length | 4 m (13 ft) |
Diameter | 3.8 m (12 ft) |
Dry mass | 9,750 kg (21,500 lb) |
References | |
References | [1][2][3][4] |
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