Tests of the RD-171MV engine for the new Russian Soyuz-5 rocket have been completed, Roscosmos telegram channel reported.
“NPO Energomash (part of the Roscosmos state corporation) has successfully completed fire tests of the RD-171MV finishing engine designed for the promising Soyuz-5 launch vehicle,” the report says.
They added that the most powerful liquid rocket engine in the world with a thrust of 800 tons worked for a total of 1461 seconds in nine firing tests without being removed from the test bench. The tests were carried out regularly, the characteristics laid down during the design were confirmed.
The RD-171MV engine has received the unofficial name “Tsar Engine”, and it is planned to use it in the first stage of the new Soyuz-5 launch vehicle, whose first launch is scheduled for 2023. In the future, the engine is also going to be used in the side blocks of the Yenisei super-heavy rocket, the first launch of which is planned in 2028 from the Vostochny cosmodrome.