KBKhA
| Industry | Rocket engines |
|---|---|
| Founded | Voronezh, USSR (April 2, 1946) |
| Headquarters | Voronezh, Russia |
| Website | kbkha |
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Footnotes / references Phone +7(473) 234-64-06 Fax: +7(473) 276-84-40 |
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Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (CADB), also KB Khimavtomatika (Russian: Конструкторское бюро химавтоматики, КБХА, KBKhA), is a Russian design bureau founded by the NKAP (People's Commissariat of the Aircraft Industry) in 1941 and led by Semyon Kosberg until his death in 1965. Its origin dates back to a 1940 Moscow carburetor factory, evacuated to Berdsk in 1941, and then relocated to Voronezh city in 1945, where it now operates. Originally designated OKB-296 and tasked to develop fuel equipment for aviation engines, it was redesignated OKB-154 in 1946.
In 1965 A.D. Konopatov took over leadership. He was succeeded by V.S. Rachuk in 1993. During this time the company designed a wide range of high technology products, including liquid propellant rocket engines, a nuclear reactor for space use, the first Soviet gas laser with an output of 1 MW and the USSR's only operational nuclear rocket engine. The company has designed more than 60 liquid propellant engines with some 30 having entered production.
KB Khimavtomatika's original mandate was to develop aviation fuel systems for Soviet military during World War II. Kosberg had spent ten years working at the Central Institute of Aircraft Engine Construction on fuel systems and was tapped to run the new bureau. Approaching German armies required the group to relocate to Berdsk, Siberia, where Kosberg and his team of about 30 specialists developed direct injection fuel systems, eventually implemented on the La-5, La-7, Tupolev Tu-2 and Tu-2D. The new fuel systems provided a significant increase in performance over conventional gasoline fuel systems and eliminated carburetor float problems caused by aggressive combat flying. They competed with direct injection systems developed by Daimler Benz at the time. After the end of the war, the design bureau was moved to Voronezh, where it continued to design fuel systems for piston, turboprop and jet aircraft.
Successful work results were a basis for the reformation of Plant 154 Design Bureau into the independent company OCB-154. The new enterprise was to develop rocket engines. The works were performed in two directions: development of LREs for space launch vehicles (LV) and missiles. Start of works was marked by the meeting of S. Kosberg and S. Korolev on February 10, 1958. The result of this meeting was the joint development of oxygen-kerosene engine RD0105 for LV “Luna” LV stage (engine chief designer V. Koshelnikov). This engine allowed LV to reach second space velocity for the first time in the world, deliver USSR pennon to the Moon surface, make the round flight of the Moon and take pictures of Moon back side. Later on, one of the craters on its backside was named after S. Kosberg. KBKhA developed LRE RD0109 for “Vostok” LV third stage (chief designer – V. Koshelnikov) on the basis of engine RD0105. The engine was more reliable and had higher technical specifications due to the creation of the new efficient lightweight combustion chamber. RD 0109 thrusts to orbit space ship Vostok with Y. Gagarin on board, all one-seat manned ships and different military and scientific spacecraft later. The development of space industry in the end of the 50th and beginning of 60th required the creation of more powerful LV for orbiting objects with mass up to 7000 kg. To fulfill this purpose, the Design bureau – on the basis of second stage engine RD0106 of military rocker P-9A - developed engines RD0107, RD0108, and RD0110 (chief designer Y. Gershkovits) for third stages of S. Korolev LVs “Molnia”, “Voshod”, “Soyuz” that ensured launches of interplanetary stations to Mars and Venus, orbiting space ships with 2 and 3 cosmonauts on board. Members of these crews were the first human beings entering into open space, made orbit docking and joint flight of two ships, including American “Apollo”. LV “Soyuz” is used to deliver payload to orbital stations. Using highly reliable engine RD0110, over 1500 LV successful launches were performed. In the beginning of 1965, chief designer S. Kosberg died in a car accident. A. Konopatov was appointed as a lead designer of the Design Bureau.
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