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Yes and no. Rocket engine design has not actually made that much progress in the meanwhile. It's not the design that was the issue. Also, the Russians were VE
by Florin_Andrei 12y ago
Yes and no.
Rocket engine design has not actually made that much progress in the meanwhile. It's not the design that was the issue.
Also, the Russians were VERY good at making rocket engines.
The real problem is that these are engines actually made decades ago, and stored under a tarp in a former Soviet facility for a long time before they were purchased by Orbital as the cheap option.
- avmich 12y agoI've seen photos of the hangar where they were stored. Looks like some decent conditions. Regardless, they were inspected - with replacing proper parts, like in valves - and tested on stands. And x-ray checks are standard for this kind of systems.