MOSCOW, Aug. 14, 2001 – The following information is adapted from a press release by Khrunichev:

NPO Energomash recently successfully completed the first fire test of the RD-191 liquid propellant rocket engine. This engine is being developed for use on the first stage of the Angara launch vehicle family developed by Khrunichev Space Center.

RD-191 is a liquid oxygen-kerosene staged-combustion rocket engine. The engine is derived from the RD-180 engine used on the Lockheed Martin Atlas III and Atlas V vehicles, as well as the earlier RD-170 and RD-171 used on the Energia and Zenit vehicles.

The RD-191 is a one-chamber engine, half the size and with half the thrust of the two-chamber RD-180, which in turn is derived from the RD-170 and RD-171, equipped with four chambers. The RD-191 features a new turbo-pump unit driven by a single gas generator. A new system of mixture ratio control is used in the engine. Control of the thrust vector is provided through gimballing of the engine about two axes.

A mockup of the engine was delivered to Khrunichev in March 1999 for fit checks with the Angara launch vehicle. The engine, as part of the Angara and Baikal launch vehicles, was demonstrated at the Paris Air Show in 1999 and 2001.

The main features of the RD-191 engine:

Propellant components:
Oxidizer – LOX
Fuel – kerosene

Thrust:
196.0 tons at sea level
212.6 tons in vacuum

Specific impulse:
310.7 sec at sea level
337.0 sec in vacuum