NK-15
Kuznetsov NK-15 is the historical LOX/kerosene, oxygen-rich staged-combustion liquid rocket engine developed for the N1 lunar launch vehicle's first stage. NASA's historical performance table groups NK-15/-33 at 1,510 kN sea-level thrust, 1,680 kN vacuum thrust, 297 s sea-level specific impulse, and 331 s vacuum specific impulse; it lists no restarts for the grouped designation. NK-15 remains the canonical N1 first-stage parent, distinct from its NK-33 and NK-43 derivatives; status remains historical.
Identity
- Aliases
- NK-15Kuznetsov NK-15N1 first-stage NK-15UEC NK-15
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- model
- Kind
- liquid-rocket-engine
- Name
- NK-15
- Status
- historical
Details
- Description
- Kuznetsov NK-15 is the historical LOX/kerosene, oxygen-rich staged-combustion liquid rocket engine developed for the N1 lunar launch vehicle's first stage. NASA's historical performance table groups NK-15/-33 at 1,510 kN sea-level thrust, 1,680 kN vacuum thrust, 297 s sea-level specific impulse, and 331 s vacuum specific impulse; it lists no restarts for the grouped designation. NK-15 remains the canonical N1 first-stage parent, distinct from its NK-33 and NK-43 derivatives; status remains historical.
- Developers
- Manufacturers
- Propellants
- keroseneliquid oxygen
- Rocket Specs
- Cycle
- oxygen-rich staged combustion
- Restartable
- No
- Sea Level Specific Impulse S
- 297
- Sea Level Thrust Kn
- 1,510
- Vacuum Specific Impulse S
- 331
- Vacuum Thrust Kn
- 1,680
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 11:49:17 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 22, 2026 at 07:57:18 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Publisher
- Rostec
- Title
- Moving upward: Kuznetsov space engines
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Note
- Supports the legacy vehicle installation and the narrow canonical identity used for migration.
- Publisher
- Official vehicle or program source
- Title
- N1 Super-Heavy Launch Vehicle official vehicle reference
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Publisher
- Rostec
- Title
- Nikolai Kuznetsov and his engines, part II
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-21
- Note
- NASA groups the historical NK-15/-33 designation and reports 339,000 lbf (1,510 kN) sea-level thrust, 378,000 lbf (1,680 kN) vacuum thrust, 297 s sea-level specific impulse, 331 s vacuum specific impulse, and no restarts.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- Liquid Engine Test Facilities Assessment