Media: Roskosmos could create a rocket engine that runs on methane – RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, January 14 – RIA Novosti. Roskosmos plans to soon begin developing a rocket engine on natural gas, its financing is incorporated in the draft of the Federal Space Program for 2016-2025 years (PCF), newspaper “News” on Thursday.

According to the publication, in the framework of development work “Propulsion launch vehicles” is planned to develop the basic elements of the cruise propulsion systems on the oxygen-carbon fuel. On this Roskosmos requested to allocate more than 25 billion rubles (with the beginning of financing this year in the amount of over 470 million), but not all funds are intended to create a methane engine.

According to the newspaper, in the “Control SW” also included the development of prototypes of liquid rocket engines of the new generation equipped with diagnostics and emergency protection, and basic elements of the engine on the basis of composite materials: nozzles, nozzle tips radiative cooling and bottom screens.

“We are planning to make a demonstrator engine on methane, even taking into account the fact that the vehicle with the engine until the building is planned. Therefore we think provide the groundwork to be outdone in terms of technologies from foreign competitors. While we are talking about creating Motor average thrust for the second stage promising missiles, “- the newspaper quoted one of the drafters of the French Communist Party.

According to the source, which was originally intended that methane engines will be equipped with the missile” Phoenix “(its development is also planned for the project FCP), but later taking into account the budget, it was decided not to make an entirely new missile, and go back to the idea of ​​recreating the Russian “Zenith” with upgraded engine RD-171.

According to the newspaper, before the topic of methane engines were worked Khimki NGOs “the Energomash” Chemical Automatics Design Bureau Voronezh and Samara Samara Space “Progress”. In 2012, the NGO “the Energomash” was scientific and technical advice on the establishment of a rocket engine running on natural gas, where it was proposed to start development of a twin-engine thrust of 200 tons of fuel on “liquid oxygen – liquefied methane”.