RD-270

RD-270 (РД-270)
Country of originUSSR/Russia
Date1962-1968
DesignerV. Glushko, USSR/Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
ManufacturerEnergomash
ApplicationGlushko's answer to the US Rocketdyne_F-1
SuccessorRD-270M
StatusDevelopment Cancelled in 1968
Liquid-fuel engine
PropellantN2O4 / UDMH
CycleFull-flow staged combustion
Performance
Thrust, vacuum6,713 kN (1,509,000 lbf)
Thrust, sea-level6,270 kN (1,410,000 lbf)
Thrust-to-weight ratio189.91
Chamber pressure26.1 MPa (3,790 psi)
Specific impulse, vacuum322 s (3.16 km/s)
Specific impulse, sea-level301 s (2.95 km/s)
Dimensions
Length194 in (4,900 mm)
Diameter132 in (3,400 mm)
Dry mass3,370 kg (7,430 lb)
Used in
1st stage of proposed UR-700 and UR-900

RD-270 (Russian: Ракетный Двигатель-270, romanized: Raketnyy Dvigatel-270, lit.'Rocket Engine 270', GRAU index: 8D420) was a single-chamber liquid-fuel rocket engine designed by Energomash (USSR) in 1960–1970. It was to be used on the first stages of the proposed heavy-lift UR-700 and UR-900 rocket families, as well as on the N1. It has the highest thrust among single-chamber engines of the USSR, 640 metric tons at the surface of Earth. The propellants used are a hypergolic mixture of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) fuel with dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) oxidizer. The chamber pressure was among the highest considered, being about 26 MPa. This was achieved by applying the full-flow staged combustion cycle for all the incoming mass of fuel, which is turned into a gas and passes through multiple turbines before being burned in the combustion chamber. This allowed the engine to achieve a specific impulse of 301 s (2.95 km/s) at the Earth's surface.

Engine testing was underway when the decision was made to cancel the program. Development was stopped with all other work on corresponding rocket projects on 11 December 1970.