25 years ago, November 15, 1996, in the Scientific and Test Complex of the Scientific and Production Association “Energomash” named after Academician V.P. Glushko (part of the state corporation “Roscosmos”) conducted the first firing test of the liquid rocket engine of the RD-180 for the first stage of the American ATLAS III carrier rocket.
The decision on the choice of the engine was made by Lockheed Martin according to the results of the competition held in 1995. In addition to the RD-180, the Oxygen-kerosene engine Ma-5 of the company Rocketdine and the Russian NK-33 engine manufactured by PJSC “Kuznetsov” (Samara) was participating.
The engine development contract was signed between NGO Energomash and the American company Lockheed Martin on June 14, 1996, and after five months the first firing test of the first RD-180 convection engine was held. To date, the ATLAS family rockets made 95 successful starts with RD-180 engines.