Rocket engine

RD-170 / RD-171

Also known as RD-171

Rockets

Overview

The most powerful liquid-propellant rocket engine ever flown — a four-chamber oxidizer-rich staged-combustion RP-1/LOX engine used on the Energia boosters and (as the RD-171) the Zenit first stage.

Components & hardware

Propellants

RP-1 / LOX

Powers

Energia

Zenit

Knowledge connections

PowersEnergia
PowersZenit
Uses propellantRP-1 / LOX

Sources

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

Gunter's Space PageGunter Krebs — Gunter's Space Page
A specialist reference compilation of launch vehicles, stages, and spacecraft across all spacefaring nations.

Quick facts

Type: Rocket engine
Cycle: Oxidizer-rich staged combustion
Propellant: RP-1 / LOX
Sea-level thrust: 7,257 kN

Unknown specifications are left blank rather than estimated.

Provenance & sources

review 2026.1

Asteria Scientific Review Process · verification: sourced · accurate

Moderate evidenceconfirmed
The RD-170/RD-171 is a four-chamber oxidizer-rich staged-combustion RP-1/LOX engine — the most powerful liquid-propellant rocket engine ever flown, at about 7,257 kN of sea-level thrust — used on the Energia boosters and Zenit first stage.
Source: Gunter's Space Page

Reviewed by the internal Asteria Scientific Review Process — not an external institutional review. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Quality & authority

56%

Reviewed

Completeness: Complete
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Curated from authoritative public sources. See source quality.

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