Russia will send the United States the last rocket engines of the RD-180, the General Director of the Scientific and Production Association (NGO) “Energomash” Igor Arbuzov reported RIA Novosti.
“These engines lie ready, but the coronavirus pandemic does not give us the opportunity to take them into the United States. We will put them this year. They are the last on the current contract,” the head said.
Agency, referring to the website of state procure, reminds that this year the United States will receive six power units of RD-180.
In July 2020, Blue Origin has delivered the Alliance United Launch Alliance (ULA) the first BE-4 missile engine, which is not serial, but is intended for testing.
In January 2018, the CEO of Energomasha, Igor Watermelov, said that more than half of the company’s revenue is formed from the supply of RD-180 RD-181 rocket engines.
Two single-chamber BE-4 installed on the first stage of the VULCAN carrier (actually atlas 6), in the aggregate will solve a large thrust than one two-chamber RD-180 of the first stage of Atlas 5. Unlike RD-180, operating on kerosene, BE-4 uses methane. Vulcan with American BE-4 must replace ATLAS 5 media with Russian RD-180.