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So these engines were built when Paul McCartney was 23 years old? Apparently Orbital Sciences scoured the museums and antique shops in Russia and picked up eno

by marze 12y ago

So these engines were built when Paul McCartney was 23 years old? Apparently Orbital Sciences scoured the museums and antique shops in Russia and picked up enough of these engines to base a new rocket on them. The reason they were surplus was that the rocket that they were built for was canceled, because the engines exploded on each of the four test launches conducted. Orbital Sciences was once a scrappy startup. Books were written about it. However, this is just embarrassing.

avmich 12y ago
Aerojet bought those engines from Russia - the original manufacturer - in 1990-s. No need for Orbital to scour museums. No, engines didn't explode. Were actually never flown before the first Antares lifted off. But performed pretty well on stands.
- marze 12y ago
  Are you were claiming that there were no failures of the NK-33 engine on any of the four N1 flights that exploded during first stage burn?
  - avmich 12y ago
    Yes. NK-33 never flew on N-1. They were intended to fly on N-1 in its fifth flight - which never happened, because Glushko closed the program after becoming the head of the Energiya company.
    - marze 12y ago
      So before the engines were obtained by Orbital, the NK-33 had never even been flight tested?
      - avmich 12y ago
        Before the engines flew for the first time, yes they never flew before. And Antares is the first rocket where those engines have flied - though not the only one rocket already.