Soyuz-2-1v - NK-33 vs RD-193

[Phillip Clark]

Might be worthwhile starting a new topic for this.   The number of NK-33 engines for use on the Blok A of the Soyuz-2-1V launch vehicle is limited and the plan is to replace it with the RD-193.

Do we know approximately or even exactly how many NK-33s are available for further Soyuz-2-1V launches?

[russianhalo117]

Might be worthwhile starting a new topic for this.   The number of NK-33 engines for use on the Blok A of the Soyuz-2-1V launch vehicle is limited and the plan is to replace it with the RD-193.

Do we know approximately or even exactly how many NK-33s are available for further Soyuz-2-1V launches?

http://russianspaceweb.com/nk33.html

As of 2013, NPO Energomash claimed that only 20 NK engines had remained available and they could support only around 10 missions of the Soyuz-2-1v rocket.

http://russianspaceweb.com/rd193.html

[Stan Black]

I think this suggests 20.
http://forum.economy.samregion.ru/sites/default/files/materials/Shahmatov_AKK_Samarskoi_oblasti.pdf

See if you can spot the Persona too…

[ZachS09]

This is a bit confusing.

If there are twenty NK-33 engines, yet they say only ten Soyuz-2.1v vehicles can be built using that engine, what happens to the other ten?

[Tomness]

This is a bit confusing.

If there are twenty NK-33 engines, yet they say only ten Soyuz-2.1v vehicles can be built using that engine, what happens to the other ten?

Would those be the engines that Aerojet Rocketdyne still possess or units that cant pass qualifications for flight?

[russianhalo117]

This is a bit confusing.

If there are twenty NK-33 engines, yet they say only ten Soyuz-2.1v vehicles can be built using that engine, what happens to the other ten?

post Antares failure only 10 are now deemed useable.

[Hog]

 Any truth to the following statement?
"43 of which were purchased by Aerojet in the 1990s. 20 of these were refurbished into AJ-26 engines for Antares."  There was supposedly over 150 NK-33s produced and in storage in Russia.   So AJ bought 43 engines and converted 20 of them to AJ-26. 

There was the 10 engines flown for the 1)Load Simulator 2)Orb-D1-Demo flight 3)CRS Orb-1 4)CRS Orb-2 which were all successes then the 5th pair of engines were used on 5)CRS Orb-3 which failed.  So there should be roughly 10 AJ26 engines and 23 NK-33 engines.

[brickmack]

As of february 2011, Aerojet had 38 NK-33s and 9 NK-43s in inventory in Sacramento. 20 of those NK-33s were certified for adaptation to AJ26 and flight use on Antares (the rest were being investigated for possibly-repairable defects, but then Antares blew up). NDK claimed another 30 NK-33s in inventory in Samara. In total, 107 production NK-33s were built, plus 101 more development engines that may have been useful for spare parts. 37 production NK-43s (which have a lot of commonality with 33 AFAIK) were built plus 5 dev engines. I assume the missing engines were used up (destroyed or just hit end of life) in testing or were improperly stored

[Danderman]

To throw a monkey wrench into everyone’s counts, the NK-33s in Russia are located on the premises of the former NPO Motorstreitel, which is a manufacturer. There are additional engines at the designer, the former SNTK.

[russianhalo117]

As of february 2011, Aerojet had 38 NK-33s and 9 NK-43s in inventory in Sacramento. 20 of those NK-33s were certified for adaptation to AJ26 and flight use on Antares (the rest were being investigated for possibly-repairable defects, but then Antares blew up). NDK claimed another 30 NK-33s in inventory in Samara. In total, 107 production NK-33s were built, plus 101 more development engines that may have been useful for spare parts. 37 production NK-43s (which have a lot of commonality with 33 AFAIK) were built plus 5 dev engines. I assume the missing engines were used up (destroyed or just hit end of life) in testing or were improperly stored

NK-43 is a vacuum optimized NK-33 for High Altitude starts.

[brickmack]

NK-43 is a vacuum optimized NK-33 for High Altitude starts.

Yeah, I don't recall how much actual commonality there ended up being above the nozzle though. MVac certainly ended up being a pretty different engine, as did the SL version of RL10 (RL10A-5)

[russianhalo117]

NK-43 is a vacuum optimized NK-33 for High Altitude starts.

Yeah, I don't recall how much actual commonality there ended up being above the nozzle though. MVac certainly ended up being a pretty different engine, as did the SL version of RL10 (RL10A-5)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NK-33#Versions

[fregate]

To throw a monkey wrench into everyone’s counts, the NK-33s in Russia are located on the premises of the former NPO Motorstreitel, which is a manufacturer. There are additional engines at the designer, the former SNTK.

NPO Motorostroitel' to be precise

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/motorostroitel.htm
And new owner of Sea Launch C7 Space Transportation Systems (space divisions of C7 Siberian airlines) has a NAPOLEONIC plans to restart production of NK-33 and NK-43 LREs engines in Samara for Russian replacement of Ukrainian Zenit 2 stage baseline LV. They are not happy with Roscosmos approved Energia design of Soyuz-5 (too expensive).