The Energomash Science and Production Association has developed the new RD-191 rocket engine, meant to equip Angara advanced carrier rockets, ready for mass production.

Why is this development unique? The high cost of putting a payload into space has always been a headache for launch customers. Huge and expensive multistage rockets are burned up in just one launch. For decades Russian and Western engine-building specialists have been wrestling with the problem of developing a reusable rocket engine that could be brought back to Earth for further use after having worked its portion of flight.

The oxygen-kerosene RD-191 is a further development of the RD-170-180 family. RD-180s are exported to the United States, where they are widely used to equip American-made Atlas carrier rockets.

The RD-191 is a highly versatile engine, capable of working in two modes, both as a first-stage and second-stage engine. Russian engineers added a limited amount of hydrogen to the oxygen-kerosene fuel and managed to achieve simultaneous and stable combustion of all three components.

The new engine originally was developed as a reusable one. When other engines are used, the burned-out stages fall to Earth, posing a serious threat both to the ecology of the impact areas and people's lives. The RD-191's recoverability and repeated use will cut payload deployment costs several times over.

To be fair, it should be said that the Americans were the first to demonstrate the feasibility of a reusable liquid-fuel rocket engine. In the mid-1990s a small Delta Clipper single-stage rocket lifted off the launch pad and successfully returned.

However, the Americans decided to exploit their success, joining forces with Russia. Between 1994 and 1995 Energomash specialists worked on a joint program to develop a reusable rocket engine. Soon, however, the United States waived Russian services and classified all work in the field.

Boeing was working on a multibillion-dollar Space Launch Initiative program to develop an advanced reusable launch vehicle. Simultaneously, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration tendered development of a next-generation reusable carrier rocket. The European Space Agency also tried to develop reusable engines. However, neither NASA nor the European Space Agency seems to have obtained any significant results.

In the near future Russia is likely to have a variety of Angara carrier rockets fitted with RD-191 engines, capable of deploying payloads of between 1.5 and 30 tons in low-Earth orbit.

Therefore, the global launch services market can count on Russia for the next few decades.

(Andrei Kislyakov is a political commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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