MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - China has shown interest in Russian projects of rocket engines running on kerosene, hydrogen, and methane, NPO Energomash General Designer Pyotr Levochkin told Interfax.
"Chinese specialists are interested in every aspect of our liquid-fuel rocket engine projects. They have decided to stop using toxic fuel components in their rockets and are shifting to eco-friendly substances, such as oxygen-kerosene, and oxygen-hydrogen," Levochkin said.
Chinese engineers have had some achievements, but still want to know more about Russia's projects, he said.
"The possibility of cooperation in high-thrust oxygen-hydrogen engines, and high- and low-thrust oxygen-hydrogen and oxygen-methane engines is being discussed," Levochkin said.
By law, Energomash needs the approval of the Russian government to develop such cooperation, he added.
"China is preparing a request and a draft of technical assignments; we will ask Roscosmos to analyze the possibility of granting this request," Levochkin said.
Russia and China have signed an agreement on the protection of technologies but rocket engines are listed products, and specialists are prohibited from any direct technical talk. "The law requires that we communicate exclusively via the licensing service and with the permission of the Russian government," he said.
Energomash General Director Igor Arbuzov and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's Sixth Academy President Liu Zhirang signed a protocol on the sidelines of the Air Show China 2018 in Zhuhai to set the procedure of bilateral efforts in the design and production of liquid-fuel rocket engines in approved areas of cooperation.
Areas of cooperation in the design and construction of rocket engines were defined by protocols of meetings of the Russian-Chinese commission for cooperation in the field of launch vehicles and rocket engines, which was held in 2018, and approved on September 28, 2018 by the protocol of the 19th meeting of the space cooperation sub-commission of the bilateral commission regarding the preparation of regular meetings of the prime ministers in Beijing.