The RD-107 is a type of rocket engine

Rocket engine

A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...

 initially used to launch R-7 Semyorka

R-7 Semyorka

The R-7 was a Soviet missile developed during the Cold War, and the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 made 28 launches between 1957 and 1961, but was never deployed operationally. A derivative, the R-7A, was deployed from 1960 to 1968...

 missiles. RD-107 engines were later used on space launch vehicle

Launch vehicle

In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....

s based on the R-7. , very similar RD-117

RD-117

The RD-117 is a rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and kerosene in a curious combustion cycle. An update of the RD-107, the RD-117 engines are used on the Soyuz-FG.- Design :...

 engines are used to launch the Soyuz FG, which is in active service.

Design

The RD-107 was designed under the direction of Valentin Glushko

Valentin Glushko

Valentin Petrovich Glushko or Valentyn Petrovych Hlushko was a Soviet engineer, and the principal Soviet designer of rocket engines during the Soviet/American Space Race.-Biography:...

 at the Gas Dynamics Laboratory-Experimental Design Bureau (OKB-456) between 1954 and 1957. It uses liquid oxygen

Liquid oxygen

Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...

 and kerosene

Kerosene

Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...

 as propellants, with each engine comprising four combustion chambers which share a single set of turbopumps.

Production

The RD-107 and RD-108 engines are produced at a plant in Samara, Russia

Samara, Russia

Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...

, under the supervision of the Privolzhskiy branch of NPO Energomash

NPO Energomash

NPO Energomash “V. P. Glushko” is a Russian manufacturer originated from design bureau, which focuses primarily on the development and production of liquid propellant rocket engines. NPO Energomash is based in Moscow, with satellite facilities in Samara, Perm, and St. Petersburg, and employs close...

. The Privolzhsky branch was organized as a branch of OKB-456 in 1958, specifically for the manufacture of RD-107 and RD-108 engines. The branch was led by Y.D. Solovjev until 1960, then by R.I. Zelenev until 1975, then by A.F. Udalov until 1978, and is currently led by A.A. Ganin.

Versions

Modifications to the RD-107 design have led to production of several distinct versions of the engine:

• 8D74
• 8D728
• 11D511
• 14D22 (also known as the RD-107A)

Similar modifications have led to several distinct versions of the RD-108:

• 8D75
• 8D727
• 11D512
• 14D21

Work on the 14D21 and 14D22 engines started in 1986, with a preliminary design completed in 1993. These engines incorporate a new injector head design to increase specific impulse

Specific impulse

Specific impulse is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines. It represents the derivative of the impulse with respect to amount of propellant used, i.e., the thrust divided by the amount of propellant used per unit time. If the "amount" of propellant is given in terms of mass ,...

. The first launch of a Progress cargo spacecraft using a launch vehicle equipped with these engines took place in May 2001. The first human spaceflight

Human spaceflight

Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....

 launch utilizing these engines took place in October 2002.

Hypergolic vs. pyrotechnic ignition

Currently produced engines are ignited with a pyrotechnic ignition system. Energomash reports a new, hypergolic ignition system (on engines designated 14D21KhZ and 14D22KhZ) are ready for certification and flight tests.

Specifications

• Thrust 813 kN (183 klb_f
  Pound-force
  The pound force is a unit of force in some systems of measurement including English engineering units and British gravitational units.- Definitions :...
  
  ) at liftoff
• Thrust 991 kN (223 klb_f) in vacuum
• Specific impulse 245 kgf
  Kilogram-force
  A kilogram-force , or kilopond , is a gravitational metric unit of force. It is equal to the magnitude of the force exerted by one kilogram of mass in a gravitational field...
  
  ·s/kg (2.40 kN·s/kg) at liftoff
• Specific impulse 310 kgf·s/kg (3.04 kN·s/kg) in vacuum
• Chamber pressure 5.85 MPa (848 psi)
• Propellants: Lox/kerosene