Russian, Chinese Firms to Develop New-generation Liquid Rocket Propellants

Russian rocket engine manufacturer Energomash and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have signed an agreement to jointly develop and manufacture new-generation liquid rocket propellants.

The document was signed at the Airshow China 2018 aerospace exhibition, Energomash said in a press release.

Both sides will cooperate on developing liquid rocket propellants using the “oxygen-kerosene, oxygen-hydrogen and oxygen-methane propellant components," the Energomash release said statement.

Until the end of 2018, the Chinese side will send technical work requirements to Energomash and in January 2019 both sides will hold consultations to formulate their final version.

After that, Energomash will draft and submit a package of documents to Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos for a government resolution on the possibility of cooperation in this area, the statement says.

"We were restrained in our negotiating process (with the Chinese) until the end of 2017 as the agreement between the governments of Russia and China on ‘Measures for Technology Protection in View of Cooperation in the Exploration and the Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes, the Development and the Operation of Launch Vehicles and the Ground-Based Space Infrastructure,’ was not ratified," Energomash CEO Igor Arbuzov said.

"Beginning from 2018, our discussions became substantive and today’s protocol is a switchover of our relations to the practical realm," he added.

The areas of cooperation in the sphere of rocket engines were defined by the protocols of sessions of the Russian-Chinese commission for cooperation in carrier rockets and rocket engines held in 2018 and were approved on September 28, 2018 in Beijing by a protocol of the 19th session of the sub-commission for interaction in outer space of the Russian -Chinese commission for preparing regular meetings of the heads of governments.