MOSCOW. Dec 1 (Interfax) - The trials of RD-191 engines for Angara rockets have proven the serviceability of component parts made by the Proton-PM company, the Roscosmos press service said in a statement.
"A series of successful trials confirmed the serviceability of the development-type engine, considering that a number of engineering modifications made to the RD-191 engine in the course of development improved its characteristics, enhanced its reliability, and reduced prime costs. Our next important stage is the beginning of serial production of the improved RD-191 engine on the Proton-PM premises," the press service quoted NPO Energomash General Director Igor Arbuzov as saying.
"These trials are the starting point of serial production of the principal range of RD-191 products, including the turbine pump, which accounts for approximately 30% of the entire engine production process, at our enterprise. The compliance of RD-191 units and components with the designer documentation has been confirmed with the flaw detection at Proton-PM that came to conclusion in November," Proton-PM head Dmitry Shchenyatsky said.
According to Roscosmos, the trials consisted of six launches at the firing test facility, which tested the turbine pipe, the (oxidizer and fuel) booster pump, the pipeline with the ejector, the filter, and the oxidizer valve.
It was decided to relocate RD-191 engine production to Proton-PM in 2015 due to the increased number of deliveries. The enterprise plans to manufacture 40 engines per year starting in 2023. Nowadays, limited editions of RD-191 engines are produced for specific launches of Angara rockets at NPO Energomash.
Roscosmos noted that Proton-PM would be manufacturing primary component parts and assembling the engine. For its part, the Voronezh Rocket Engine Building Center will be making the combustion chamber, and NPO Energomash will be developing engineering solutions and providing engine firing tests.
Regular Angara launches from the Vostochny Cosmodrome are scheduled to begin in 2023. The inaugural launch of an Angara rocket carrying the new crewed Oryol spaceship will take place in the end of 2023, Roscosmos said.
Angara is a family of modular rockets with oxygen-kerosene engines, which come in four types ranging from light to heavy. The rocket's lift capacity varies from 3.5 tonnes (Angara 1.2) to 38 tonnes (Angara A5V) delivered to low-Earth orbit.
It was reported in May 2019 that the Russian Defense Ministry would launch three Angara-A5 rockets and one Angara 1.2 rocket in 2019-2021. However, the launch due in 2019 was moved to 2020. The ministry is the main consumer of Angara rockets.
The second stage of the Vostochny Cosmodrome is under construction for launching Angara rockets.