MOSCOW, 18 Sep. The methane engine for the Amur-LNG reusable space rocket is scheduled to be tested in 2023, said Vladimir Rachuk, general designer of an oxygen-hydrogen engine for the Soviet super-heavy rocket Energia, general director and general designer of the Chemical Automation Design Bureau (1993-2015). the history of the creation of rocket engines on methane. The first tests were carried out by the enterprise in the 1990s. In 2007, the RD-0146 oxygen-hydrogen engine was successfully launched on methane, and in 2014 a methane demonstrator engine for the Vega rocket was developed for the Italian company Avio. the development of the RD-0177 / RD-0169 engine with a thrust of 100 tons for the Amur-LNG launch vehicle. According to a letter from Rachuk sent to RIA Novosti. The design of the Amur-LNG rocket started in 2020. It should be a two-stage middle-class rocket, the first launch of which from the Vostochny cosmodrome is planned in 2026. The carrier must have a reusable (up to 10 times) reversible first stage equipped with RD-0169 engines that run on oxygen and liquefied natural gas (methane). It is planned that Amur-LNG will replace the Soyuz-2 missiles currently in operation.
The developer of Energia approved the creation of a Russian lunar rocket using methane As Rachuk noted, the development of reusable space rockets is a trend in recent years. First of all, this concerns such carriers as Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, New Glenn and Neutron (USA), Ariane-6 (Europe) and Changzheng-8 (PRC). The most effective fuel for reusable rockets is methane. This explains the development in recent years of the Raptor, BE-4, BE-Z (USA) engines, the ongoing creation of the Prometheus engine (France), and the Tiancue tests (China). The use of kerosene, and not methane, in Ilona Mask's Falcon 9 rockets, expert is explained by the fact that the Merlin engines are made according to a scheme without afterburning, which greatly simplifies the cleaning technology and preparation for restarting.
«High-latitude Russian cosmodromes, unlike other countries, require the use of engines with the highest possible efficiency, that is, engines with afterburning,» Rachuk explained.
According to his calculations, due to the low density of methane compared to kerosene, the rocket will require larger tanks, but due to the higher specific impulse of thrust in liquefied natural gas, it fully compensates for the loss in size and weight of the rocket structure. possesses the qualities necessary for a reusable rocket — it leaves behind much less soot, facilitating the work of cleaning engines in the interflight period, has a cooling effect in the combustion chamber, increasing the overall reliability of the engine. From the financial point of view, methane is also beneficial. It is widely used in industry, is available and is the cheapest fuel, Rachuk said.