The RD-0210 (,

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 ...

: 8D411K) is also known as the RD-465. It and its twin, the RD-0211, are

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 ...

s using

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) as fuel and

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 ...

(N₂O₄) as oxidizer in an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle. They have a single nozzle, possess

thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to Aircraft flight control system, control the Spacecra ...

and are the latest evolution in the RD-0203/4 lineage. They are the engines used on the

Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...

second stage. The RD-0213 is a fixed nozzle variation that is used on the RD-0212 module of the

third stage.

Development

When Chelomey's

OKB-52 NPO Mashinostroyeniya () is a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, Russia. During the Cold War it was responsible for several major weapons systems, including the UR-100N Intercontinental ballistic missile and the military Almaz space station ...

started their

UR-200 The UR-200 was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by Vladimir Chelomey's OKB-52 in the Soviet Union. It was known during the Cold War by the NATO reporting name SS-10 ''wiktionary:scrag, Scrag'' and internally by the GRAU ind ...

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...

project, they requested S. A. Kosberg's OKB-154 to develop the propulsion. They decided to use the same basic block for both the first and second stage. But to achieve the required performance, Kosberg had to develop a staged combustion engine, a then extremely aggressive feat. Only M. V. Melnikov of

OKB-1 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 Korolev, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, th ...

had designed a staged combustion engine before, the

S1.5400 The S1.5400 (GRAU Index 11D33) was a Soviet single-nozzle liquid-propellant rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and kerosene in an oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle, the first rocket engine to use this cycle in the world. It was designed by ...

, and it used a different propellant mix with significantly less thrust. To simplify design and manufacture, the engine would be used both on the first and the second stages. The first stage would use a module - the RD-0202 - that comprised three RD-0203 and one RD-0204, while the upper stage would use a RD-0205 module comprising a RD-0206 main engine plus an auxiliary vernier engine, the RD-0207. The RD-0204 only difference to the RD-0203 was that it included a heat exchanger to heat the pressurant gases for the first stage tank. The RD-0206 was very similar to the RD-0204, but its nozzle was vacuum optimized and had a fixed nozzle. The

thrust vector control Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the veh ...

task was delegated to the four nozzle RD-0207 vernier engine. While the UR-200 project was in direct competition to the R-36 and was cancelled in favor of the latter, it did have a few test launches and thus was a proven design. When Chelomey started his super

heavy ICBM Heavy ICBM is a term that was created in the 1970s to describe a class of Soviet and Russian ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles). They were characterized by a heavy throw-weight of 60 to 90 metric tons, several times that of an LGM-30 Minu ...

UR-500 (8K82) project, he originally intended to use multiple UR-200 modules as a first stage. When this concept proved not viable, and the multi-body that was finally used was settled on, they had to search for new propulsion on the first stage. For the second stage, they adapted the UR-200 first stage's. It needed new tanks to match the first stage, but most of the rest could be adapted. The engines had to be started in the air and had to get longer nozzles, optimized for vacuum operation. Both of this features were demonstrated on the RD-0206, and were readily adapted. They also received a thrust vector gimbaling system, to have better control during launch. Thus, the RD-0208/RD-0209 were born. In a parallel case with the RD-0203/4, the RD-0209 was a version of the RD-0208 that included a heat exchanger. When the UR-500 proved to be too big as an ICBM, the application of the vehicle as a weapon was cancelled. But it could be adapted as a heavy launch vehicle that could perform important missions for the

Soviet moonshot The Soviet crewed lunar programs were a series of programs pursued by the Soviet Union to land humans on the Moon, in competition with the United States Apollo program. The Soviet government publicly denied participating in such a competitio ...

, and so the Proton-K (8K82) was born. This allowed Chelomey to pitch it as a competitor, along the UR-700 project, of

Korolev Korolyov, also transliterated as Korolev or Korolov (), or its feminine variant Korolyova, Koroleva, Korolova (), is a common Russian surname, and the name of multiple places in Russia. It is derived from the word ''korol'' (), meaning "king". Kor ...

's N-1. For this new missions, it would not need to comply with ICBM specification standards, but would need at least a third stage. The second stage was enlarged, and the RD-0208/9 were revised as the RD-0210 and RD-0211 by uprating them slightly and significantly increasing the burning time. For the third stage, the UR-200 second stage was adapted -again, with the same 4.1m tanking as the first and second stages- and the RD-0205 module with an RD-0206 and an RD-0207 vernier engine was given an overhaul. The new module, - known as RD-0212 - consisted of an RD-0213 and an RD-0214 vernier engine. The RD-0213 was a RD-0206 brought to RD-0211/12 standards, and the RD-0214 was a revised RD-0207.

History

The RD-0203/4 was the second staged combustion engine in the world, only after the

, and was also the first staged combustion engine with storable propellants. On 15 September 1968 the RD-0210, RD-0211 and the RD-0212 module launched the

Zond 5 Zond 5 () was a spacecraft of the Soviet Zond program. In September 1968 it became the first spaceship to travel to and circle the Moon in a circumlunar trajectory, the first Moon mission to include animals, and the first to return safely to Ea ...

around the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

on a

free return trajectory In orbital mechanics, a free-return trajectory is a trajectory of a spacecraft traveling away from a primary body (for example, the Earth) where gravity due to a secondary body (for example, the Moon) causes the spacecraft to return to the primar ...

, that sent the first alive organisms around the moon and back to Earth. On 19 April 1971 a Proton orbited

Salyut 1 Salyut 1 (), also known as DOS-1 (Durable Orbital Station 1), was the world's first space station. It was launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut programme, ''Salyut'' program subsequently achieved five m ...

the first space station to orbit the Earth. On 19 May 1971 a Proton launched the

Mars 2 The Mars 2 was an uncrewed space probe of the Mars program, a series of uncrewed Mars landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union beginning 19 May 1971. The Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions consisted of identical spacecraft, each with an orb ...

probe to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. The orbiter was identical to the

Venera 9 Venera 9 (), manufacturer's designation: 4V-1 No. 660, was a Soviet uncrewed space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 8, 1975, at 02:38:00 UTC and had a mass of . The orbiter was the first sp ...

bus, and the lander was the first man made object to reach the surface of Mars. On 8 June 1975 a Proton launched the

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

. It consisted of an orbiter based on the

design, and a lander which was sent the first pictured from the surface of Venus. On 20 November 1998 a Proton launched Zarya the first module of the

ISS The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), ...

. On 12 July 2000 a Proton launched Zvezda, the third module launched of the ISS and the center of the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n portion of the station - the

Russian Orbital Segment The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed in Russia and operated by the Russian Roscosmos. The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the entire Station ...

Versions

The basic engine has been used for the UR-200 first and second stages, the UR-500 second stage and the Proton second and third stages. Each variation is as follows: * RD-0203 (

GRAU 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 ...

Index: 8D44): The second staged combustion rocket in the world, and the first hypergolic. It used an oxidizer rich preburner and had a thrust of . Propulsion of the UR-200 first stage. * RD-0204: Slight variation of the RD-0203 that included a heat exchanger for heating the tank pressurizant gases. Propulsion of the UR-200 first stage. * RD-0206 (

Index: 8D47): Variation of the RD-0203/4, optimized for vacuum expansion and no TVC. Used on the UR-200 second stage. * RD-0208 (

Index: 8D411): Evolution of the RD-0203, with vacuum optimized nozzle and air start capability. Used on the second stage of the UR-500. * RD-0209 (

Index: 8D412): Same as RD-0208, but with a heat exchanger. Used on the second stage of the UR-500. * RD-0210 (

Index: 8D411K): Also known as the RD-465, it is an evolution of the RD-0208. Used on the second stage of the Proton-K and Proton-M rockets. * RD-0211 (

Index: 8D412K): Also known as the RD-468, it is the same as RD-0210, but with a heat exchanger like the RD-0209. Used on the second stage of the Proton-K and Proton-M rockets. * RD-0213 (

Index: 8D48): Variation of the RD-0210/11, optimized for vacuum expansion and no TVC. Used on the RD-0212 propulsion module of the Proton third stage.

Modules

Some of these engines were bundled into modules of multiple engines. The relevant modules and auxiliary engines are: * RD-0202 (

Index: 8D45): A module comprising three RD-0203 and a single RD-0204. Propulsion module of the UR-200 first stage. * RD-0205 (

Index: 8D46): A module comprising an RD-0206 and an

RD-0207 The RD-0214 (, GRAU index: 8D811) is a vernier thruster rocket engine burning unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) fuel with dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) oxidizer in a gas-generator cycle. It has four nozzles that can each gimbal 45 degrees in ...

vernier engine. Propulsion of the UR-200 second stage. * RD-0212 (

Index: 8D49): Also known as the RD-473, it is a propulsion module comprising one RD-0213 and an

RD-0214 The RD-0214 (, GRAU index: 8D811) is a vernier thruster rocket engine burning unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) fuel with dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) oxidizer in a gas-generator cycle. It has four nozzles that can each gimbal 45 degrees in ...

vernier engine. Propulsion module of the third stage of the Proton-K and Proton-M rockets.

References

External links