The rocket engine NK-33, developed by Soviet designers for the lunar program of the USSR back in the 60s of the last century, was recently successfully tested in Samara. At one time, the leadership of the CCCP abandoned the NK-33, but now it turned out that over the past years, the engine is not only not outdated, but also ahead of all currently existing competitors.
On tests in Samara, the NK-33 worked for 250 seconds, which means that if it were installed on a ship, it would successfully put it into orbit, because this only takes 80 seconds. Considering the fact that the engine has not worked for 40 years, its successful start and the shown result in operation can be called a miracle.
Designer Kuznetsov, who was engaged in the development and manufacture of NK-33, he conceived for flights to the Moon and Mars. At the end of the sixties, four launches of N-1 missiles equipped with such engines were made, but they all ended in failure. After the Americans landed on the moon, the leadership of the USSR completely ordered the curtailment of the Soviet lunar program, and the remaining power plants to be destroyed. But the chief designer, academician Kuznetsov, did not raise a hand to destroy his brainchild, and several NK-33s were hidden in the bowels of the Samara Luka. Despite the setbacks, Kuznetsov believed in the engine he had created and therefore decided on a bold campaign against the will of the Central Committee of the CPSU, hoping that a risky undertaking would justify itself in the future.
academician Kuznetsov
And nowadays it turned out that the academician's calculation turned out to be correct, today the Samara rocket designers are betting on the N-33. This engine will be used in the new Soyuz-1 project, the future of “light astronautics.” The main purpose of these rockets will be to launch commercial and scientific satellites into orbit.
According to the project leaders, the first rocket is planned to be launched this year.
