微信公众号“中国的航天”3月14日消息,3月10日下午3点左右,北京云岗传来巨大轰鸣,这是我国大推力氢氧发动机在今年进行的首次试车。启动运行520秒后,发动机正常关机,试车圆满成功,我国迄今最大推力的氢氧发动机又一次完成了浴火淬炼。
这是该台发动机成功进行的第二次长程试车,进一步验证了大推力氢氧发动机的可靠性。
大推力氢氧发动机用于长征五号系列运载火箭的芯一级,是目前我国已投入型号应用的性能最先进的低温液体火箭发动机。
What China need that Russia can offer is their experience in developing RD-170 or RD-180, not the technology. Technology is a specific design, not the theory. China has the theory, China does not need the specific design because the Russian engines do not fit CZ-9. What Russia can help is some advice when China faces some challenge in developing YF-130, such as high pressure chamber. The help may be just a few words from the past experience, or months of joint investigation. How could that be given a fixed price?Speaking of which, there has been news report claiming that Russia agrees to transfer the technology of their RD 180 rockets to China at a price of 20 billion USD, after stopping the provision of new RD 180 rockets and maintenance services to the US after the sanctions due to the invasion.
Is this true? Can someone verify this?
What China need that Russia can offer is their experience in developing RD-170 or RD-180, not the technology. Technology is a specific design, not the theory. China has the theory, China does not need the specific design because the Russian engines do not fit CZ-9. What Russia can help is some advice when China faces some challenge in developing YF-130, such as high pressure chamber. The help may be just a few words from the past experience, or months of joint investigation. How could that be given a fixed price?
The idea of Russia selling RD 180 or RD-170 are never practical because CZ-9's design in all its evolution variants was never around any Russian engines. RD-180 is too small while RD-170 is too big.
IMO, the idea was like the rumor of Russia tried to get China on board of PAKFA. It never got serious even if it was true, and once China determined what a 4th gen fighter China want, the idea is over for ever.
Is this their new bomber?Russia did want China to get on PAKFA. That’s not a rumor.
PAK-FA = Su-57 fighter bomber, PAK-DA = stealth bomber, PAK-DP = interceptor, PAK-TA = heavy transport
I would not be surprised if China bought some Su-57 aircraft when it gets to Su-57M upgrade. But this would be at best a limited purchase similar to the Su-35 one. Buying one or two dozen aircraft just for evaluation purposes alone would be useful.
Yet given that Russia is more likely to adopt a cold war footing after this conflict I expect weapon sales of such type to be constrained for a while.
A place where China-Russia cooperation in space would be useful would be the space nuclear propulsion program.
There could also be cooperation in ASAT weapons like A-235 Nudol.
On Mar 10, China tested the "high thrust oxyhydrogen rocket engine (大推力氢氧发动机)" in Yungang, Beijing. The engine shut off as planned after running for 520 seconds. [ What's the model number of this engine? ]
This is the second "long running test (长程试车)" of this engine. It is the largest (in thrust) rocket engine developed by China so far. It is used in the "first stage core (芯一级)" of the CZ-5 series.
This is not a new engine. It is already in service and used in CZ-5 (IIUC this is what the Chinese text means, quoted below, emphasis mine).Why is a new engine for the first stage needed?
大推力氢氧发动机用于长征五号系列运载火箭的芯一级,是目前我国已投入型号应用的性能最先进的低温液体火箭发动机。
This is not a new engine. It is already in service and used in CZ-5 (IIUC this is what the Chinese text means, quoted below, emphasis mine).