Russia will send the latest RD-180 rocket engines [...] to the United States, Igor Arbuzov, Director General of the Energomash Research and Production Association (NPO), told RIA Novosti.
"These engines are ready, but the coronavirus pandemic does not allow us to take them to the United States. We will deliver them this year. They are the last under the current contract, " the head said.
The agency, referring to the public procurement website, recalls that this year the United States will receive six RD-180 power units.
In July 2020, Blue Origin delivered the first BE-4 rocket engine to the United Launch Alliance (ULA), which is not a production engine, but is intended for testing.
In January 2018, Igor Arbuzov, General Director of Energomash, said that more than half of the company's revenue is generated from the supply of RD-180 and RD-181 rocket engines to the United States.
Two single-chamber BE-4s mounted on the first stage of the Vulcan carrier (actually Atlas 6), together will allow you to develop more thrust than one two-chamber RD-180 of the first stage of the Atlas 5. Unlike the RD-180, which runs on kerosene, the BE-4 uses methane. The Vulcan rocket with the American BE-4 should replace the Atlas 5 carrier with the Russian RD-180.
Ivan Potapov
