According to these sources, today the Director-general of TsKB "Progress" Alexander Kirilin promised to restart production of NK-33 in 2014. Series production will take place in Samara at the "Motorostroitel" plant.
Quote from: Jim on 06/23/2009 07:18 pmQuote from: zaitcev on 06/23/2009 07:09 pmAccording to these sources, today the Director-general of TsKB "Progress" Alexander Kirilin promised to restart production of NK-33 in 2014. Series production will take place in Samara at the "Motorostroitel" plant.Those aren't AJ-26. Aerojet is going to take over productionRiiiigggght. And RD-180 is going to be built in the U.S. too. - Ed Kyle
Quote from: zaitcev on 06/23/2009 07:09 pmAccording to these sources, today the Director-general of TsKB "Progress" Alexander Kirilin promised to restart production of NK-33 in 2014. Series production will take place in Samara at the "Motorostroitel" plant.Those aren't AJ-26. Aerojet is going to take over production
Quote from: Jim on 06/23/2009 09:38 pmQuote from: edkyle99 on 06/23/2009 08:37 pmQuote from: Jim on 06/23/2009 07:18 pmQuote from: zaitcev on 06/23/2009 07:09 pmAccording to these sources, today the Director-general of TsKB "Progress" Alexander Kirilin promised to restart production of NK-33 in 2014. Series production will take place in Samara at the "Motorostroitel" plant.Those aren't AJ-26. Aerojet is going to take over productionRiiiigggght. And RD-180 is going to be built in the U.S. too. - Ed KyleThe AJ-26 is not a stock NK-33, it is greatly modified.I agree that Aerojet will have to have its "hands" on the engines, but I'll believe that Aerojet will build them from scratch (and that someone will be able to afford to pay them to do it) only when I see it.
Quote from: edkyle99 on 06/23/2009 08:37 pmQuote from: Jim on 06/23/2009 07:18 pmQuote from: zaitcev on 06/23/2009 07:09 pmAccording to these sources, today the Director-general of TsKB "Progress" Alexander Kirilin promised to restart production of NK-33 in 2014. Series production will take place in Samara at the "Motorostroitel" plant.Those aren't AJ-26. Aerojet is going to take over productionRiiiigggght. And RD-180 is going to be built in the U.S. too. - Ed KyleThe AJ-26 is not a stock NK-33, it is greatly modified.
Quote from: Jim on 06/23/2009 09:44 pmThey are significant mods, more than a rebuild.Right. They're currently modifying existing engines (new engine controls, etc., as I understand it.) What I'm thinking about is the more-distant future, a few years distant, when the original NK supply runs out. Aerojet has the rights to build new, but can it/will it, really? That's the part I'll wait to see. I hope Aerojet gets there, but I suspect it could more likely turn out to be a partnership with NK Engines Company (former Kuznetsov), where Aerojet builds part, NK part, etc.. - Ed Kyle
They are significant mods, more than a rebuild.
In fact, I have argued it would be cheaper for ULA to convert Atlas 5 to twin NK-33s than to start RD-180 production up in the U.S. (And before anyone tells me the NK-33 doesn't have enough thrust, in fact it can be run at higher than advertised thrust levels and also is much lighter than the RD-180, as well.)
Compared to the RD-180, the NK-33 will be much easier to build in the U.S. The 180 has a number of expensive-to-replicate forgings that the NK-33 lacks.
Quote from: HMXHMX on 06/24/2009 12:41 amCompared to the RD-180, the NK-33 will be much easier to build in the U.S. The 180 has a number of expensive-to-replicate forgings that the NK-33 lacks.Another feature of RD-180 that strikes me is the flexible duct for hot oxygen (unless I confuse something), so that the chambers alone gimball, while the turbomachinery _and_ the preburner remain stationary. Of course I have no idea how expensive that element is, the thought of the gas at higher than chamber pressure being pumped through what amounts to my drier's vent hose scares me.
the thought of the gas at higher than chamber pressure being pumped through what amounts to my drier's vent hose scares me.
Engineers can design anything.
if you've designed something that cannot be made, then you have not designed a good partthe difference you state is not the difference between a senior and a green engineer its the difference between a good and a bad engineer
Quote from: silver t on 06/24/2009 08:41 pmif you've designed something that cannot be made, then you have not designed a good partthe difference you state is not the difference between a senior and a green engineer its the difference between a good and a bad engineerNo between an an engineer and a marketing guy armed with powerpoint. I have seen several times in my career marketing say it needs to do powerpoint bullet point XYandZ and a good design gets subverted and stupid things get added onto the widget at additional cost/reduced reliability to meet perceived marketing demands that came out of how they felt over in marketing. A good engineer designs for the materials at hand, a bad one finds a material to do what he wants his design to do... cough Ares - I ... cough.A brave engineer stands up and says marketing is full of it... Taking that tack actually reduces the amount of meetings you get invited/dragged too. So it is a win on all fronts Not to talk up spaceX on an Orbital thread, but if you notice, the Merlin is a good, cheap easy to produce engine that does not push the limits anywhere. Other than the mistake of the albative version, which they have learned from, that mistake was also made on the Delta-IV, so we can not hold spaceX out to dry for trying the same thing.
Yes, Merlin is "good, cheap easy to produce engine"...according to the SpaceX marketing guys/gals armed with Powerpoint charts - and fancy animations.
And, yes, they do have static fire history but do we really have enough indpendent facts to give credence to the claims you've reiterated?
WALLOPS ISLAND — Maryland and Virginia officials held a groundbreaking at a Monday ceremony marking the start of construction of a new launchpad and other facilities to support Orbital Science Corporation’s Taurus II rocket program.AdvertisementThe rocket will be used to carry cargo to the International Space Station. A demonstration flight is scheduled for late next year, followed by eight resupply missions to the International Space Station between 2011 and 2015.U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said the groundbreaking marked “another era of discovery” similar to when Capt. John Smith first set foot on the Eastern Shore four centuries ago.“Here on the Eastern Shore, people used to earn their living off the land or off the water...Now they are also going to earn their living off of space,” Mikulski said, calling the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops “a global center...an international center for research and discovery.”
The recent Sea Launch bankruptcy has me wondering about the Taurus II first stage. SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash is building the stage, but the economics were surely based on an assumption of synergy with Zenit production.
At the very least, the bankruptcy will reduce the numbers of Zenits built. At worst, it will shut the program down. What effect might this have on Taurus II?
WALLOPS ISLAND — Maryland and Virginia officials held a groundbreaking at a Monday ceremony marking the start of construction of a new launchpad and other facilities to support Orbital Science Corporation’s Taurus II rocket program.Advertisement
Quote from: Ronsmytheiii on 06/30/2009 03:04 amWALLOPS ISLAND — Maryland and Virginia officials held a groundbreaking at a Monday ceremony marking the start of construction of a new launchpad and other facilities to support Orbital Science Corporation’s Taurus II rocket program.AdvertisementOK, does anyone have pictures from the ceremony? That's one thing I wish Oribital did more like SpaceX. I so wish they had blogs and more pictures.I have contacted congress and the senate 3 times for SpaceX (I have bugged FAA for Armadillo more than 3 times), but hard to get excited about Orbital without some good new fashioned fake openness.