Russia builds world’s most powerful rocket engine
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The first sample of the RD-171MV engine for the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle has been produced by Roscosmos.
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Engine RD-171MV for the Soyuz-5 (Roscosmos)
A new sample of a liquid-fuelled rocket engine, the RD-171MV, has reportedly been completed by the Energomash Research and Production Association.
The RD-171MV engine, a modified version of the 2001 RD-171M engine, will power the new Soyuz-5, and its thrust reaches 800 tonnes, believed to be more powerful than any propulsion system like it.
Roscosmos announced that the sample engine had been completed on Friday, adding that the rocket will fly the new Soyuz-5 launch.
Read more: Russia's Roscosmos to build 46 ICBMs
The organization also stated that it expects to finish the construction of the RD-171MV for a second carrier this year, as well as manufacture an engine for a third. Energomash has also successfully constructed and tested two further RD-171MVs for final finishing testing, with over two dozen fire tests of the engine carried out thus far.
Roscosmos explained that “the next stages of the program will be interdepartmental tests of the RD-171MV and the serial supply of engines for Soyuz-5 missiles."
The Soyuz-5, also known as Irtysh, will be launched in two stages from Kazakhstan's Baikonur space station. According to Roscosmos, the rocket will be capable of carrying up to 17 tonnes of cargo into space, and its primary role will be to send autonomous space equipment to various near-Earth orbits.
Europe's space activities have been hampered by the war in Ukraine, and sanctions on Russia have prevented European space businesses from obtaining Russian Soyuz rockets. Following the failure of the Vega-C launch in December, which was purportedly caused by a faulty Ukrainian-made component, European space businesses have faced even more constrained payload capacity for commercial satellite launches.
