Country of origin | Soviet Union |
---|---|
Date | 1976-1978 |
First flight | October 31, 1977 |
Designer | Yuzhnoye Design Bureau |
Manufacturer | Yuzhmash |
Application | Upper stage |
Associated LV | R-36M UTTKh and Dnepr |
Successor | RD-869 |
Status | In service |
Liquid-fuel engine | |
Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
Mixture ratio | 1.8 |
Cycle | Gas generator |
Configuration | |
Chamber | 4 |
Performance | |
Thrust |
|
Chamber pressure |
|
Specific impulse |
|
Burn time | Up to 600 s |
Restarts | 25 |
Gimbal range | ±55° |
Dimensions | |
Length | 4,020 mm (158 in) |
Diameter | 1,420 mm (56 in) |
Dry weight | 199 kg (439 lb) |
Used in | |
R-36M UTTKh and Dnepr third stage | |
References | |
References | [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] |
Country of origin | Soviet Union |
---|---|
Date | 1983-1985 |
First flight | March 1986 |
Designer | Yuzhnoye Design Bureau |
Manufacturer | Yuzhmash |
Application | Upper Stage |
Associated LV | R-36M2 |
Predecessor | RD-864 |
Status | In service |
Liquid-fuel engine | |
Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
Mixture ratio | 1.8 |
Cycle | Gas generator |
Configuration | |
Chamber | 4 |
Performance | |
Thrust |
|
Chamber pressure |
|
Specific impulse |
|
Burn time | Up to 700 s |
Restarts | 50 |
Gimbal range | ±55° |
Dimensions | |
Length | 4,020 mm (158 in) |
Diameter | 1,420 mm (56 in) |
Dry weight | 196 kg (432 lb) |
Used in | |
R-36M2 third stage | |
References | |
References | [1][5][6][10] |
The RD-864 (GRAU: 15D177) is a Soviet liquid propellant rocket engine burning UDMH and nitrogen tetroxide in a gas generator combustion cycle.[1] It has a four combustion chambers that provide thrust vector control by gimbaling each nozzle in a single axis ±55°. It is used on the third stage of the R-36M UTTKh (GRAU: 15A18) and Dnepr.[5] For the R-36M2 (GRAU: 15A18M), an improved version, the RD-869 (GRAU: 15D300) was developed.[1][6][10][11]
When the Soviet military developed an improved version of the R-36M ICBM, Yangel's OKB-586 developed a new engine for the third stage, the RD-864. Developed between 1976 and 1978 it flew for the first time on October 31, 1977. With the START I and START II the some 150 R-36M and R-36M UTTKh were retired and to be destroyed by 2007.[1][4] So, a civilian application was looked for and during the 1990s, Yuzhnoe Design Bureau (the R-36M designer) successfully developed the Dnepr launch vehicle.[3] It flew for the first time on April 21, 1999 and as of June 2016 it is still operational.[12] So, while the production of the RD-864 has long since been finished, the engine is still to this day operational.[12][13]
The RD-869 was an improved version for the most powerful Soviet ICBM ever, the R-36M2 (15A18M). It had improved efficiency, restart capability and burn life over the RD-864.[1][10] As of January 2016 there are still 46 operational R-36M2 (RS-20V, SS-18) and thus the RD-869 is still in service, if out of production.[13]
There are two versions of this engine: