RD-180

Common card · No. 328289

The RD-180 (Russian: Ракетный Двигатель-180 (РД-180), romanized: Raketnyy Dvigatel-180, lit. 'Rocket Engine-180') is a rocket engine that was designed and built in Russia. It features a dual combustion chamber, dual-nozzle design and is fueled by a RP-1/LOX mixture. The RD-180 is derived from the RD-170 line of rocket engines, which were used in the Soviet Energia launch vehicle. The engine was developed for use on the US Atlas III and Atlas V launch vehicles and first flew in 2000. It was never used on any other rocket. The engine has flown successfully on all six Atlas III flights and on 110 Atlas V flights, with just a single non-critical failure in March 2016. Atlas V is being phased out due to the national security implications of reliance on the Russian-built engine, which became a concern after the Russian annexation of Crimea. In 2021, Atlas manufacturer United Launch Alliance announced that it was retiring the Atlas V and that it had already taken delivery of the RD-180 engines...

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