The developer of the RD-180 engine responded to Elon Musk

The chief designer of NPO Energomash, the developer of the RD-180 rocket engines, Petr Lyovochkin, responded to Elon Musk's statement about the superiority of his SpaceX Raptor engine over the RD-180. Lyovochkin called the engines incomparable. His statement was published on the Roscosmos website.

More. Elon Musk tweeted . that the Raptor rocket engine broke the combustion chamber pressure record previously held by the Russian RD-180 (266.7 bar) and reached a value of 268.9 bar

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1094782854007910400

• Lyovochkin emphasized that the Raptor uses a gas-gas fuel scheme (oxygen and methane). The pressure level in them can reach 300 atmospheres (about 304 bar).
• According to Lyovochkin, comparing these engines is like comparing a diesel engine and a gasoline internal combustion engine. Unlike the Raptor, the RD-180, which is used in the American Atlas launch vehicle, uses an oxygen-kerosene fuel scheme. Energomash certified this engine with a margin of 10%, so the pressure in the RD-180 combustion chamber can exceed 280 atmospheres (283.71 bar).

Context. In December 2018, Elon Musk said: "it's embarrassing that Lockheed Martin and Boeing are forced to use a Russian engine [RD-180] on the Atlas launch vehicle." At the same time, he added that he considers the design of the RD-180 to be excellent.

• NPO Energomash has supplied the United States with 113 RD-180 engines for the Atlas V and 17 RD-181 engines for the Antares rocket since the late 1990s, RIA Novosti reported in December . 2018 By that time, 93 engines had already been used for launches.
• Atlas V is an American two-stage launch vehicle. The RD-180 oxygen-kerosene engine powers the Atlas first stage. The missile is manufactured by ULA, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

Alexander Amzin