Paris Air Show
Aerospace |
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Lockheed
Martin Buys $1 Billion In Russian Rocket Engines
Paris (June 17, 1997) -- Lockheed Martin announced today that it is buying 101 RD-180 rocket engines from RD Amross, a joint venture between US Pratt & Whitney and NPO Energomash of Russia. The exclusive contract, estimated at over $1 billion, calls for the engines to be produced in Khimsky, Russia for use on the Atlas IIAR launcher Lockheed Martin will place into service in late 1998.
While the principle purpose of the order seems to be to satisfy demand for the International Launch Services (ILS) commercial launch venture announced two weeks ago with Intersputnik, Lockheed Martin said it also hopes to underline its intent to win the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) contract expected to be let by the U.S. Air Force a year from now.
The Atlas IIAR can insert large payloads up to four tons into geostationary transfer orbit, a significantly higher elevation than the low earth orbit satellites being touted for the new satellite constellations. On the EELV side, Pratt & Whitney revealed that they are beginning work on a new RD-180 rocket engine manufacturing and assembly facility at West Palm Beach, Florida. This presumably will meet the requirements of the U.S. that the rocket engines on the final EELV be of U.S. origin. The new facility will be capable of producing domestic components for the RD-180 next year. Existing facilities at West Palm Beach are already fabricating RD-180 parts for key process demonstration and verification.
"The RD-180 will be the only rocket engine in the world that will have the production assurance of parallel manufacturing lines to support commercial and government needs," said Karl J. Krapek, President, P&W. "From machining the first metal chips to final acceptance testing and shipment to the customer, we will have the capability of producing 100 percent of the RD-180 engine domestically for the EELV government missions." The RD-180's flight certification, scheduled for June 1998, will meet the Atlas IIAR's first launch date set for December 1998. Completing its core testing in February, the RD-180 began full engine testing in March and has successfully demonstrated a full Atlas IIAR mission profile. The RD-180 engine is a one-half size derivative of the proven Russian RD-170. It packages the high performance (almost one million pounds of thrust) and operability features of the RD-170 in a size to meet U.S. booster propulsion needs. The engine is a total propulsion unit with hydraulics for control valve actuation and thrust vector gimbaling, pneumatics for valve actuation and system purging, and a thrust frame to distribute loads, all self contained as part of the engine. The liquid oxygen and kerosene fueled RD-180 shares 70 percent common components with the RD-170. The engine is reported to have 10,000 fewer parts than the Atlas IIAS
launcher, with only two engines versus nine. |
ILS has claimed
quick success, holding more than $3 billion in orders to launch 49 satellites.
This puts the Joint Venture on equal footing with Arianespace, the market
leader in Europe. Arianespace counters that ILS is counting options, while
its market share ratings are based on firm orders.
The RD-180 is
a new derivative booster rocket engine designed by NPO Energomash (NPO-EM),
Russia's number one manufacturer of liquid-fueled booster rocket engines.