RD-170
The most powerful liquid rocket engine
On display
The RD-170 runs a closed cycle with oxidiser-rich staged combustion: all the oxygen passes through the turbine and burns in the chambers rather than being dumped overboard. That yields a high specific impulse but demands materials resistant to hot oxygen at 600 atmospheres.
A single 190-megawatt turbopump feeds four chambers — comparable in power to a small power-station unit. The engine was designed to be reusable for ten flights.
On display is an engine from the Energia–Buran production run, mounted on a transport frame.
