The RD-215 (,
GRAU index
The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the Chief of ...
: 8D513) was a dual nozzle
liquid-fuel rocket
A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket uses a rocket engine burning liquid propellants. (Alternate approaches use gaseous or solid propellants.) Liquids are desirable propellants because they have reasonably high density and their combustio ...
engine, burning a
hypergolic
A hypergolic propellant is a rocket propellant combination used in a rocket engine, whose components spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with each other.
The two propellant components usually consist of a fuel and an oxidizer. The ...
mixture of
unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine
Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (abbreviated as UDMH; also known as 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, heptyl or Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is primarily used as a rocket propellant. At room temperature, UDMH is a colorle ...
(UDMH) fuel with AK-27 oxidizer (a mixture of 73%
nitric acid
Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...
and 27%
dinitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russian rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...
[] with iodine as a passivation (chemistry), passivant). It was used in a module of two engines (four nozzles) known as the RD-216 (GRAU index: 8D514).
The RD-215 was developed by
OKB-456 for
Yangel's
Yuzhmash
The State Enterprise "Production Amalgamation 'Southern Machine-Building Plant named after O.M. Makarov'", officially abbreviated as Pivdenmash () and previously as Yuzhmash (), is a Ukrainian state-owned aerospace and defence manufacturer. ...
R-14 (8K65)
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
. Its variations were also used on the
Kosmos-1,
Kosmos-3
The Kosmos (also spelled Cosmos, Russian: ) rockets were a series of Soviet and subsequently Russian rockets, derived from the R-12 and R-14 missiles, the best known of which is the Kosmos-3M, which has made over 440 launches. The Kosmos fami ...
and
Kosmos-3M
The Kosmos-3M ( meaning "''Cosmos''", GRAU index 11K65M) was a Russian space launch vehicle, member of the Kosmos (rocket family), Kosmos rocket family. It was a liquid-fueled two-stage launch vehicle, first launched in 1967 and with over 420 s ...
launch vehicles.
Versions
The family incorporate many versions:
/ref>
*RD-215 (GRAU index: 8D513): Original design for the R-14 (8K65). Used also on the Kosmos-1 and Kosmos-3
The Kosmos (also spelled Cosmos, Russian: ) rockets were a series of Soviet and subsequently Russian rockets, derived from the R-12 and R-14 missiles, the best known of which is the Kosmos-3M, which has made over 440 launches. The Kosmos fami ...
Kosmos-3M
The Kosmos-3M ( meaning "''Cosmos''", GRAU index 11K65M) was a Russian space launch vehicle, member of the Kosmos (rocket family), Kosmos rocket family. It was a liquid-fueled two-stage launch vehicle, first launched in 1967 and with over 420 s ...
.
Modules
These engines were bundled into modules of pairs of engines. The serial production modules were:Kosmos-3
The Kosmos (also spelled Cosmos, Russian: ) rockets were a series of Soviet and subsequently Russian rockets, derived from the R-12 and R-14 missiles, the best known of which is the Kosmos-3M, which has made over 440 launches. The Kosmos fami ...
first stage.Kosmos-3M
The Kosmos-3M ( meaning "''Cosmos''", GRAU index 11K65M) was a Russian space launch vehicle, member of the Kosmos (rocket family), Kosmos rocket family. It was a liquid-fueled two-stage launch vehicle, first launched in 1967 and with over 420 s ...
first stage.
See also
* R-14 - Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
for which this engine was originally developed for.
*Kosmos-3
The Kosmos (also spelled Cosmos, Russian: ) rockets were a series of Soviet and subsequently Russian rockets, derived from the R-12 and R-14 missiles, the best known of which is the Kosmos-3M, which has made over 440 launches. The Kosmos fami ...
- launch vehicle
A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...
that is uses an R-14 as first stage.
*Kosmos-3M
The Kosmos-3M ( meaning "''Cosmos''", GRAU index 11K65M) was a Russian space launch vehicle, member of the Kosmos (rocket family), Kosmos rocket family. It was a liquid-fueled two-stage launch vehicle, first launched in 1967 and with over 420 s ...
- launch vehicle
A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...
that is uses an R-14 as first stage.
* Rocket engine using liquid fuel
References
External links
NPO Energomash official site.
{{Rocket engines
Rocket engines of the Soviet Union
Rocket engines using hypergolic propellant
Rocket engines using the gas-generator cycle