The RD-0126 "Yastreb" (РД-0126 «Ястреб») was a
liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine
A cryogenic rocket engine is a rocket engine that uses a cryogenic fuel and oxidizer; that is, both its fuel and oxidizer are gases which have been liquefied and are stored at very low temperatures. These highly efficient engines were first fl ...
burning
liquid hydrogen
Liquid hydrogen () is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecule, molecular H2 form.
To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point (thermodynamics), critical point of 33 Kelvins, ...
and
liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen, sometimes abbreviated as LOX or LOXygen, is a clear cyan liquid form of dioxygen . It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an application which is ongoing.
Physical ...
, developed by
KBKhA Kosberg in Voronezh, Russia. The RD-0126 variant had a conventional
de Laval nozzle
A de Laval nozzle (or convergent-divergent nozzle, CD nozzle or con-di nozzle) is a tube which is pinched in the middle, with a rapid convergence and gradual divergence. It is used to accelerate a compressible fluid to supersonic speeds in the a ...
, while the RD-0126E (РД-0126Э) was designed and constructed with an
expansion-deflection nozzle. Both variants were designed to produce of thrust.
The expansion-deflection nozzle of the RD-0126E was designed to increase the efficiency of an
expander cycle
Expander may refer to:
*Dynamic range compression operated in reverse
*Part of the process of signal compression
*Part of the process of companding
*A component used to connect Serial Attached SCSI#SAS expanders, SCSI computer data storage, device ...
by maximising heat transfer to the fuel that drove the engine's turbopumps, while also allowing for a greater expansion ratio for a certain length of nozzle. In 1998, the RD-0126E underwent hot-fire testing. The engine was proposed as the upper-stage engine for an upgrade of the
Soyuz-2.1 launch vehicle, named Onega. All work ceased on the RD-0126 in 2002.
Development
In 1992, KBKhA Kosberg began the development of a new hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine, to feature a novel expansion-deflection nozzle.
In this arrangement, the combustion chamber of the engine is placed downstream of the nozzle throat, where the flow of exhaust gases is supersonic. In 1995, KBKhA, using internal funding, continued to develop the engine for roles such as launch vehicle upper stages and space tugs. Consequently,
RSC Energia
S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation "Energia" () is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. Its name is derived from the Russian word for energy and is also named for Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the first chief o ...
issued terms of reference for the project, naming the new engine RD-0126.
Work continued, and in 1998, the engine was subjected to a series of tests in which it was fired on a ground-based test stand. Four tests were conducted, each lasting for about 30 seconds, and testing the engine at combustion chamber pressures from up to .
During these tests, the engine walls were cooled by water supplied from the test stand. The testing confirmed the predicted properties of the engine and showed that flow separation did not occur within the nozzle when the non-regeneratively cooled extension was not installed.
The engine was planned to form the basis of the upper stage of the now-cancelled
Onega launch vehicle, a major upgrade to the Soyuz-2.1.
By 2002, all work on the engine had ceased.
As of 2023, KBKhA states that all work on the engine has been completed.
Versions
* RD-0126 - version of the engine with conventional de Laval nozzle. Chamber pressure , mass , specific impulse 470s.
* RD-0126E - version using the expansion-deflection nozzle; hot-fired four times in 1998.
See also
*
RD-0146
The RD-0146 () is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine developed by KBKhA Kosberg in Voronezh, Russia.
The RD-0146 is the first Russian rocket engine to burn liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in the expander cycle, in which turbopumps are d ...
- hydrogen-oxygen expander rocket engine also developed by KBKhA.
*
Rocket engine
A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed Jet (fluid), jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellants stor ...
References
External links
KbKhA Home Page
{{Rocket engines
Rocket engines of Russia
KBKhA rocket engines
Rocket engines using hydrogen propellant
Rocket engines using the expander cycle