State-owned Ukrainian rocket maker Pivdenmash (also known as Yuzhmash) Machine Building Plant is preparing a new batch of engines for the European launch vehicle (LV) Vega to ship to the European partners, the press service of the enterprise has reported. According to the report, in Q2 2017 Pivdenmash produced two liquid fuel rocket engines RD-843 and prepared them for shipment to the customer.
The Vega was designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for carrying satellites with a weight up to 1,200 kilos to a 1,200-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit and satellites with a weight of 1,500 kilograms to a 700-kilometer polar orbit. The contract to design and supply of the cruise engine of the fourth stage of Vega LV between Pivdenne (Yuzhnoye) Design Bureau and Pivdenmash and Italy’s Avio SpA was signed in February 2004.
In April 2012, the partners signed a three-year contract with Avio SpA to supply first batch production engines. The contract can be extended. In July 2017 the parties extended the contract until 2020. The Ukrainian government and the ESA signed an agreement on cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space in 2008. The ESA unites 17 European countries.
