Voronezh rocket engines show higher fuel efficiency than SpaceX's developments. This was announced by the chief designer of the Chemical Automation Design Bureau (KBKhA) Viktor Gorokhov.
According to him, the RD-0124 oxygen-kerosene engine used on Soyuz rockets remains the most economical in its class. He noted that the Merlin engine used on the Falcon 9 is inferior to it in terms of fuel consumption.
The third stage engine, which the "Soyuz" is flying on today, is the most economical in the world in its class. The Merlin engine is seriously inferior in efficiency to the one created in Voronezh.
At the same time, Russian developments lose in the key parameter of modern cosmonautics — reusability, Gorokhov admitted. The first stage of the Falcon 9, created under the leadership of Elon Musk, can be used dozens of times, which dramatically reduces the cost of launches.
The gap is also reflected in the statistics: the United States conducted 192 successful launches in a year, China — 90, Russia — 17.
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