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RD-100
Credit - © Dietrich Haeseler
Engine Model: RD-100. Manufacturer Name: RD-100. Designer: Glushko. Developed in: 1946-50. Application: R-1, V-1A. Propellants: Lox/Alcohol. Thrust(vac): 304.000 kN (68,341 lbf). Thrust(sl): 267.000 kN (60,023 lbf). Isp: 237 sec. Isp (sea level): 203 sec. Burn time: 65 sec. Mass Engine: 885 kg (1,951 lb). Diameter: 1.65 m (5.41 ft). Length: 3.70 m (12.10 ft). Chambers: 1. Chamber Pressure: 15.90 bar. Oxidizer to Fuel Ratio: 1.28. Thrust to Weight Ratio: 35.37. Country: Russia. First Flight: 1948. Last Flight: 1964. Flown: 184.

The RD-100 was a Russian copy of the V-2 engine using Russian materials - which made it very difficult! German rocket scientists assisted in its realization. German salaries and conditions were good - the chief of the German team receiving the second highest salary after the Soviet designer-in-chief. The RD-100 was built in 1946 at a former Ilyushin aviation plant that had been moved to Tashkent in World War 2 (now the Energomash factory). There was no equipment so everything had to be started from scratch. By mid-1947 the first RD-100 was ready. In May 1948 the first RD-100 test took place at Khimki itself, with the spectators watching from 1 km away. There are still tests at the same location but thrust levels are now 800 tonnes force. The R-1 rocket with the RD-100 engine entered service in 1950.

RD-100 used on Rocket Stages
  • Used on stage: A-4. on launch vehicle: A9/A10.
  • Used on stage: A-4. on launch vehicle: Hermes.
  • Used on stage: A-4. on launch vehicle: R-1.
  • Used on stage: A-4. on launch vehicle: V-2.
Bibliography:

  • Kudryavtseva, V M, ed., Zhidkostnikh Raketnikh Dvigatley, Visshaya Shkola, Moscow, 1993.
  • Salmon, Andrew, The Story Of Russian Rocket Engines - Energomash Museum, Commentary by the guide at the Energomash rocket engine museum in Khimki, April 1998 at YSC98..
  • Haeseler, Dietrich, Information from NPO Energomash museum exhibit, Nov. 1992 via Dietrich Haeseler.
  • Glushko, V P (ed), Kosmonavtika Entsiklopedi, Moscow 1985 via Dietrich Haeseler.
  • Rakhmanin, V F, Odnazhdy i Navsegda, NPO Energomash, Moscow 1998 via Dietrich Haeseler.
  • Russian Arms Catalogue, Vol 5 and 6, Military Parade, Moscow via Dietrich Haeseler.
  • Michels, Juergen and Przybilski, Olaf, Peenemuende und seine Erben in Ost und West, Bernard & Graefe, Bonn, 1997.
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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.