- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

US to Stop Using Russian Rocket Engine RD-180 in Mid-2020s - United Launch Alliance

© Sputnik / Sergei Guneev / Go to the mediabankThe assembly of the RD-180 engines.
The assembly of the RD-180 engines. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
MOSCOW, September 16 (Sputnik) - US company United Launch Alliance (ULA) plans to end operation of the Atlas-5 launch vehicle with the Russian RD-180 engine in the mid-2020s, Julie Arnold, an ULA spokeswoman, told Sputnik.

The RD-180 engine is manufactured at the Energomash rocket engine manufacturer (an enterprise of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos) and is used in the first stage of the Atlas-5 rocket. ULA provides launch services with Atlas-5.

According to Energomash, 116 RD-180 engines have been sent to the United States, of which 91 have already been used. In 2020, delivery of six more RD-180s is expected.

The United States is developing a Vulcan launch vehicle to replace the Atlas-5, the first stage of which will be equipped with the BE-4 engines by Blue Origin.

There are plans to use the RD-180 in Russia - in the medium-lift Soyuz-6 rockets and the super-heavy Yenisei.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала