Annotation: Specialized design office for liquid engines was established on July 22, 1958 to develop engines and propulsion systems, powered by liquid propellants to be installed on the combat missile systems and integrated launch vehicles (LV), developed by Yuzhnoye SDO. Moreover, liquid engines design office was assigned with manufacturing and testing of the main rocket engines, developed by NPO Energomash and to be installed on Yuzhnoye-developed launch vehicles. Over the past 66 years Yuzhnoye SDO has developed more than 40 liquid rocket engines (LRE) of various purpose, designed both to gas-generator cycle and to staged combustion cycle. Seventeen of them were commercially produced by Yuzhmash PA and installed on launch vehicles. Nowadays Yuzhnoye propulsion experts keep working on development of the advanced liquid rocket engines powered both by cryogenic and hypergolic propellants, which satisfy the majority of launch service market demands. Within the framework of extensive cooperation with foreign space companies, on a contract basis, Yuzhnoye propulsion experts are working on the design and development testing of the liquid rocket engines, as well as their components. The accumulated vast experience in the development of liquid rocket engines nowadays enables high scientific and technical level in the creation of up-to-date engines, demanded in the world market. Significant steps in this area have been made by the experts from the Yuzhnoye propulsion division and then subsequent manufacture and delivery by Yuzhmash PA of the engine intended for the European rocket Vega Stage 4; and designing the individual components for the engines with thrusts ranging from 500 kgf to 200 tf ordered by foreign customers. This article provides the review of current and scheduled activities of the Yuzhnoye SDO to develop the liquid rocket engines within the thrust ranges from ~ 40 kgf to ~ 500 tf.

Annotation: The Ukrainian companies Yuzhnoye SDO and SE PA YMZ supply VG143 main engine assembly for Vega LV AVUM upper stage, which is a one-chamber LRE of 250 kg thrust with five ignitions in flight. By the present, 11 successful launches of Vega LV have been made. In the process of flight operation, there were no critical comments on engines operation. This LRE has a combination of attractive characteristics, such as high specific pulse, low mass, multiple ignitions in flight, high reliability confirmed by good results of flight test of the prototype engines. The reserve of this engine from the viewpoint of further modernization is far from being exhausted. Enhancing the capabilities of payload injection by launch vehicles into various orbits of artificial Earth satellites is the main task for the developers of ILV as a whole and for the developers of separate assemblies and systems, such as LRE being part of ILV. With consideration for the experience of prototype engines testing, we should note the following ways of main engine assembly modernization: – increasing the specific pulse due to the increase of nozzle expansion ratio; – decreasing the volume of internal manifolds and mass of chamber; – increasing the operation time; – increasing the ignitions number; – increasing the duration of pauses between ignitions and orbital functioning time. Increasing the thrust and specific pulse of Vega LV VG143 main engine assembly and AVUM stage takes place due to the use of pneumopump propellant feeding system instead of standard pressure feeding. Besides, the information is presented on RD859, RD864, RD866 and RD869 prototype engines, the data on their basic characteristics, testing and operation. The below information is of interest to LRE and LV developers.

Annotation: One of the important directions in the development of Yuzhnoye SDO liquid rocket engines is creation of the engines for launch vehicle upper stages, boosters, space tugs and takeoff-and-landing vehicles. The article presents an overview of Yuzhnoye SDO – developed liquid rocket engines, their basic characteristics, distinctive features and the current status of development and operation. The article presents the information on the following engines: RD858 and RD859 operating on storable propellants, for lunar takeoff-and-landing Block E module; RD809M and RD809K operating on liquid oxygen + kerosene created on the basis of RD8 serial control engine of Zenit launch vehicle second stage. In this case, RD809M engine is RD8 version with tight integration and RD809K engine is its one-chamber version; RD805 engine operating on liquid oxygen + kerosene created on the basis of combustion chamber of RD8 serial control engine of Zenit launch vehicle second stage.; RD835 engine operating on liquid oxygen + kerosene created for the second stages of launch vehicles of Mayak type; the engines and propulsion systems operating on storable propellants, such as RD861K (main engine of Cyclone-4 third stage and Cyclone-4M launch vehicle second stage), DU802 (liquid propulsion system of Krechet autonomous space tug of conversion Dnepr launch vehicle), RD840 (apogee liquid rocket engine of liquid propulsion system of geostationary communication satellite bus), VG143 (main engine assembly of the fourth stage of European Vega launch vehicle), RD864 and RD869 (main engines of Dnepr launch vehicle upper stages). The information presented in the article is of interest to liquid rocket engines and launch vehicles developers.

Annotation: During 60 years of existence of specialized Liquid Rocket Engines Design Office – DO-4 as a part of Yuzhnoye Design Office, extensive experience was accumulated in development of liquid rocket engines of various purpose on storable and cryogenic propellant components. The required test benches and production base were created. When developing the engines, the DO-4 specialists widely use the experience accumulated during manufacturing and testing of the engines developed by the other design offices for Yuzhnoye SDO LVs that were manufactured by SE PA Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant and tested at Yuzhnoye SDO’s and Plant’s test benches. Along with the conventional ones, new original engine designs were developed to achieve high energy-mass characteristics, reliability and quality. Among them we should mention the RD858 and RD859 engines for the soviet lunar take-off-and –landing module of Block E, the unique RD857 and RD862 engines with afterburning of reducing generator gas and gas dynamic method of thrust vector control, the RD866 multifunctional engine of space tug ensuring multiple ignition in flight, and many others. At present, Yuzhnoye SDO jointly with SE PA Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant deliver the engine for the European Vega LV forth stage propulsion system under the contract with Avio company (Italy). Based on Yuzhnoye SDO–created engines, propulsions systems for ballistic missiles and space rockets that are unique by their characteristics and scope of functions, the engines, propulsions systems for spacecraft, LV upper stages and transfer orbit stages can be developed in short terms and at minimal costs.

Annotation: The calculation procedure is proposed, the analysis is made and the ranges of optimal probability values of no-failure operation of pneumohydraulic propellant supply system and its elements are determined based on general requirements to integrated launch vehicle.