Russian Space Program: News & Discussion #4

The Soyuz-2.1b rocket with 34 OneWeb communication satellites was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome

The launch became the hundredth for the Fregat upper stage

TASS, September 14. The Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and 34 British communication satellites OneWeb was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, follows from the broadcast on the Roscosmos website .

About nine minutes later, the Fregat with satellites separated from the third stage of the rocket. "There is a separation of the head unit from the third stage of the launch vehicle," said the launch commentator.

The launch of the vehicles by the upper stage will take about three and a half hours. The satellites will be separated in several stages. This launch became the hundredth for the Fregat upper stage.

This is the second launch of OneWeb satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome in 2021, it should bring the number of spacecraft of the British company in orbit to 322. The work is being carried out under a contract between Glavkosmos JSC and Arianespace and Starsem companies.

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OneWeb confirms successful launch and contact with all 34 satellites, bringing total in-orbit constellation to 322 satellites

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I don't see how pausing development to incorporate technologies developed for Amur in order to make Yenisei cheaper and better to use would be considered falling behind, it in fact ensures competitiveness.

Just like the radar discovery on the Sukhoi LTS the news here is just as deperessing because its like the work you just did on making a rough draft you will have to scrap and make a new one so this will just push the 2028 date for Yenisen back and surely the Don rocket in 2030. Now Musk fan boys have every reason to go shitpost saying shit like Russia is now going to catch up to our starship by going full re-usable methane. I was pissed when the upper stage engines were not the closed circuit kerosene design that Mindstorm mentioned back on page 3 going from 280 to 3000 seconds where it can be used like 10 times without refueling that if you muliplied the current cost of Kerosene by 1/10th you would get a cheaper fuel design than methane. I was thinking maybe 1st stages will be methane and 2nd stages would be the closed circuit kerosene engines with parachutes but that is also not the case and I am assuming we will not get much news but maybe in 2030 about applying the closed circuit engine designs.

The only thing that can redeem these rockets is obviously the 1st stage being methane, and if they somehow pull a miracle out of their ass to make a closed circuit methane engine instead of a closed circuit kerosene engine with deployable parachutes to reland. Than we can hold our head high because Musk currently does not have anything to return upper stage engines other than balloons with no timeframe of testing. The 56 million dollar design on Irtysh(supposedly lower with 3rd printing) and 57 million dollar design on Angara-A5M will seem like a waste of time because the engines cant be re-used while currently being kerosene design. Friendly reminder these are just small versions of the old Yenisei and Don Rockets which they all decided to ditch for methane engines. The only thing that is going for Roscosmos is Amur.

Big_Gazza wrote:Russia has stopped the development of a lunar super-heavy rocket

MOSCOW, September 15 - RIA Novosti. Russia has stopped technical design of a super-heavy rocket for flights to the Moon , but it is possible that work may be resumed after specifying the program, Dmitry Baranov, general director of the Samara Rocket and Space Center (RSC) Progress, told RIA Novosti.in.

Interesting that the journo who wrote this piece attributes the pause to consider a methalox alternative to Rogozin.  IIRC it was the Russian Academy of Sciences that was driving the proposed use of methane instead of traditional kerolox.

looks like a cry wolf eating red herrings

Rogozin denied information about the termination of work on the super-heavy "Yenisei"

The head of Roscosmos added that methane engines will also be developed, which will make it possible to reuse the rocket stages


EKATERINBURG, September 15. / TASS /. Work on the creation of the super-heavy Yenisei launch vehicle has never stopped, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to NPO Automatics in Yekaterinburg.

Earlier in the media, with reference to Dmitry Baranov, General Director of the Samara Rocket and Space Center (RSC) Progress, information appeared that Russia had stopped technical design of the Yenisei rocket for flights to the moon.

"In fact, the work on the creation of a strategic transport space system has never stopped. <...> Technically, we are ready to start creating a super-heavy rocket right now, <...> elements of a super-heavy rocket are evident," he said.

Rogozin noted that the super-heavy rocket "costs colossal money." In his opinion, it cannot be "sculpted from what was", but it is necessary to use only the latest technologies in the process of creation, for example, composite tanks, which will be 30-40% lighter than tanks made of already existing alloys.

The head of Roscosmos added that methane engines will also be developed, which will make it possible to reuse the rocket stages. "We will do better a little later, but we will do so that it will be an incentive for the development of composite materials in Roskosmos, and new alloy systems, and new production systems, and new engines, which are not yet available, but we hope to get them. by 2024-2025, "he said.

https://tass.ru/kosmos/12405663

So to keep things on track - when is next Angara launch?

Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the creation of a complex for Soyuz-5 launches. 

The Center for the Operation of Ground-based Space Infrastructure Facilities (part of Roscosmos) and Basis construction LLP (Kazakhstan) signed an agreement to create a complex for launching the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle at Baikonur. This was announced by the general director of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin.

"The contract for the creation of a rocket and space complex at Baikonur to ensure the launches of the latest Soyuz-5 launch vehicle was signed between the Center for the Operation of Ground-based Space Infrastructure and Basis construction LLP (Republic of Kazakhstan)" – Rogozin wrote in the Telegram channel.

According to the head of Roscosmos, the parties are starting to reconstruct the launch and technical complexes of the Zenit rocket for their modernization within the framework of the Baiterek project.

Source: 

Russia, Kazakhstan sign agreement on construction of Soyuz-5 launch complex — Roscosmos

https://tass.com/science/1338675

All 34 OneWeb satellites put into designated orbit

https://tass.com/science/1337793

The Amur is the only saving grace if they can get it out of 300 re-uses with costs lower than 22 million dollars for Roscosmos. I think it was already explained before that the amount of times a 1st stage can be re-used to save money. I dont know what makes Rogozin think the Irtysh and Angara-A5M expandable rockets listed at 56-57 million dollars would be enough when the falcon costs 50 million dollars to make for them and selling it for 62 million dollars. Payload capacities of the rocket seem similiar to Irtysh and Angara-A5M but the Falcon can have its 1st stage engines re-used when space X is only spending money on 2nd stage engines to make and fuel depending how many times the 1st stage can be re-used. So here we are introducing two expandalbe designs that wont make much of a difference to the international market of purchasing rockets where Space X will still stay dominant in sales over Roscosmos until 2026 when Amur is finished assuming nothing happens to that project like cancellation or pushing its dates back.

Those parachutes and closed circuit engines better make some significant progress soon to enter the market.

3D models of the Spektr-R space radio telescope of the Radioastron project:

thegopnik wrote:The Amur is the only saving grace if they can get it out of 300 re-uses with costs lower than 22 million dollars for Roscosmos. I think it was already explained before that the amount of times a 1st stage can be re-used to save money. I dont know what makes Rogozin think the Irtysh and Angara-A5M expandable rockets listed at 56-57 million dollars would be enough when the falcon costs 50 million dollars to make for them and selling it for 62 million dollars. Payload capacities of the rocket seem similiar to Irtysh and Angara-A5M but the Falcon can have its 1st stage engines re-used when space X is only spending money on 2nd stage engines to make and fuel depending how many times the 1st stage can be re-used. So here we are introducing two expandalbe designs that wont make much of a difference to the international market of purchasing rockets where Space X will still stay dominant in sales over Roscosmos until 2026 when Amur is finished assuming nothing happens to that project like cancellation or pushing its dates back.

Those parachutes and closed circuit engines better make some significant progress soon to enter the market.

Making the engines detachable and returnable achieves most of the cost savings. Landing the whole first stage back on the pad is a gimmick
and fluff no matter what techno-worshippers believe. The cost in fuel to achieve this stunt directly limits payload. It is not a tiny fraction
so if we are going to be accounting for 5 million dollar differences, then ignoring this is simply dishonest. Landing the engines without having
to maneuver them as part of a reusable first stage also greatly decreases the risk of loss.

What the whole reusable spasm is about is a desire for sci-fi space planes. They are not going to carry much payload in the coming centuries
even if they are developed. There is no free lunch.

Expert: Second Arktika-M satellite launch to assure entire Northern Sea Route coverage

The first special Arktika-M satellite was launched in February 2020 and another such satellite will be launched in 2023

MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. The second Arktika-M satellite, which is due to be launched in 2023, will be used to monitor the entire Northern Sea Route (NSR), Director General of the Navy’s Central Research and Design Institute Sergei Buyanov said on Wednesday.

"In February last year (2020), a special Arktika-M satellite was launched. <…> We plan another such satellite will be launched in 2023. Thus, we will be able to cover rather well the entire Northern Sea Route," he said during a roundtable, devoted to the Arctic navigation and innovations in shipbuilding, at the Project Office for Arctic Development.

The current system for monitoring and communication along the entire Northern Sea Route is not sufficient, the expert stressed.

The Northern Sea Route is the shipping route and the main sea line in the Russian Arctic sector. It stretches along northern coasts of Russia across the seas of the Arctic Ocean (Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Bering seas). The route consolidates European and Far Eastern ports of Russia and navigable river mouths in Siberia into a single transport system. The route length is 5,600 km from the Kara Strait to the Providence Bay.
About satellite

Arktika-M No. 1 satellite, designed at the Lavochkin design bureau (a part of the Roscosmos state-run corporation), was launched on February 28, 2021. The satellite is a part of the Arktika-M hydrometeorological system of satellites on highly elliptical orbit (HEO). The orbital grouping may contain up to four satellites.

The system is designed to carry out the following tasks: to obtain and pre-process (normalize) multispectral images of clouds and the underlying Earth's surface within the entire observed Earth disk in the Arctic region; to obtain helio-geophysical data at the orbit altitude; to collect and relay information from data collection platforms (DPS); to relay signals from COSPAS-SARSAT emergency beacons; to provide two-way radio communication between data reception stations and the Roshydromet hydrometeorological network’s data collection ground stations.

https://tass.com/economy/1338641

George1 wrote:Expert: Second Arktika-M satellite launch to assure entire Northern Sea Route coverage

The first special Arktika-M satellite was launched in February 2020 and another such satellite will be launched in 2023

MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. The second Arktika-M satellite, which is due to be launched in 2023, will be used to monitor the entire Northern Sea Route (NSR), Director General of the Navy’s Central Research and Design Institute Sergei Buyanov said on Wednesday.

"In February last year (2020), a special Arktika-M satellite was launched. <…> We plan another such satellite will be launched in 2023. Thus, we will be able to cover rather well the entire Northern Sea Route," he said during a roundtable, devoted to the Arctic navigation and innovations in shipbuilding, at the Project Office for Arctic Development.

https://tass.com/economy/1338641

Not sure who got their facts wrong (Buyanov or the TASS journo) but the 1st Arktika-M was launched this year, 28-Feb 2021 out of Baikonour.

https://www.russianspaceweb.com/arktika_m1.html

Energia developer approved the creation of a Russian methane-powered lunar rocket

The use of methane instead of kerosene as a fuel in a new Russian super-heavy rocket will make it possible to implement modern technologies of reusability and multiple switching on of engines in flight, said the general designer of an oxygen-hydrogen engine for the Soviet super-heavy rocket Energia, general director and general designer of the Chemical Automation Design Bureau (1993-2015) ) Vladimir Rachuk.

Earlier, RIA Novosti became aware of the termination of the technical design of the Yenisei super-heavy rocket, which was supposed to be based on the technologies of the Soyuz-5 and Soyuz-6 oxygen-kerosene rockets . In turn, Soyuz-5 is an updated Russian version of the Zenit missile, created in the USSR and assembled in Ukraine from Russian components. Instead of a super-heavy rocket powered by kerosene, as the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin told reporters earlier , the new carrier will use methane. Super-heavy vehicles are designed for launching very large structures, for example, a manned flight complex to the Moon.

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Not sure how I feel about this as it is disappointing in one respect, but I can't deny the logic.  Methalox is a superior technology to kerolox, and while a redesign will push the schedule out quite a few years to the right, a methane powered SHLV will be big advantage.  The Chinese have recently announced the same move on their LM9, and that adds to the pressure for Russia to up the ante to a newer tech with greater potential.   Apart from manned missions to the Moon (which can be managed by multiple A-5V launches in the interim with its 37T to LEO), Russia doesn't really need an SHLV for its next 10 years of planned operations, so operationally the impact of such a change of requirements will be small.

What now happens to Soyuz-5?  The only compatible launch pads will be the Baiterek complex in Baikonour (converted Zenit pad) and Sea Launch (status unsure).  The Zenit pad at Plesetsk was converted to Angara, and AFAIK Russia has no plans to build further pads.   Russia is committed to finishing Soyuz-5 and it will be a useful vehicle, but Angara-3M (with the A-5M improvements) would nicely fill the 17T launch capacity slot if such was really needed. Watch this space I suppose...  

Nice video of recent spacewalk to continue the integration of Nauka into the Russian segment of ISS.  Could it be that stodgy old Roskosmos is finally booting its staid communist conservatism and putting a real emphasis on public outreach?  

Seriously though, there is a lot of really great imagery in this clip. I never really appreciated how many connections are needed to fully integrate the station modules and install the ancillary equipment onto the stations exterior.

Expert: tests of the engine for a reusable rocket will begin in 2023

The methane engine for the Amur-LNG reusable space rocket is scheduled to be tested in 2023, said Vladimir Rachuk, general designer of an oxygen-hydrogen engine for the Soviet super-heavy rocket Energia, general director and general designer of the Chemical Automation Design Bureau (1993-2015).

KB Chemical Automatics has a rich history of creating methane-fueled rocket engines. The first tests were carried out by the enterprise in the 1990s. In 2007, the RD-0146 oxygen-hydrogen engine was successfully launched on methane, and in 2014 a methane demonstrator engine for the Vega rocket was developed for the Italian company Avio.

"Since 2016, the Chemical Automation Design Bureau under a contract with the state corporation" Roscosmos "has been developing the RD-0177 / RD-0169 engine with a thrust of 100 tons for the Amur-LNG launch vehicle. It is planned to start firing tests of the engine in mid-2023, "Rachuk's letter to RIA Novosti says.

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The RD-0169 (100T thrust) to be used on the Amur-LNG launcher (10.5T to LEO in reuseable mode) will apparently be the engines used on the 2nd stage of the proposed Methalox SHLV.  I'd expect that the RD-182 first stage engines (250T) will be up-scaled RD-0169?

The important takeaway here is of course that Russia is developing methalox engines, regardless of claims to the contrary.

Jumping to methalox reusable URMs for an SHLV like the Yanisei is asking for trouble. Even if the academicians think it is a great idea.
Great ideas are filtered by reality which is usually not anticipated but realized the hard way after the fact.

The SHLV URMs need to fly on a regular basis for non-SHLV purposes. This way they can be debugged and understanding can
form how they actually behave in the real world. So justifying reusable methalox for the Yanisei is idiotic without first using
the URMs for smaller payloads which according the the academicians is not cost effective. So a catch 22 that is begging for
N-1 level fail.

So methalox reusable modules need commitment to general adoption.

kvs wrote:Jumping to methalox reusable URMs for an SHLV like the Yanisei is asking for trouble.   Even if the academicians think it is a great idea.  
Great ideas are filtered by reality which is usually not anticipated but realized the hard way after the fact.

The SHLV URMs need to fly on a regular basis for non-SHLV purposes.   This way they can be debugged and understanding can
form how they actually behave in the real world.   So justifying reusable methalox for the Yanisei is idiotic without first using
the URMs for smaller payloads which according the the academicians is not cost effective.   So a catch 22 that is begging for
N-1 level fail.

So methalox reusable modules need commitment to general adoption.  

Methalox will firstly fly with non-reuseable Amur cores to get the basic technology up and running.  Then they can introduce re-usability measures and work out the kinks.  Meanwhile they have Angara (and Soyuz 5) kerolox to provide baseload launch capability and as a hedge in case Amur doesn't work out for some reason.

No reason a SHLV can't fly on Amur-style cores with methalox reusability options not installed if its needed to fly before these features are fully worked out and certified.

Ukraine has decided to send its flag to the moon.

Ukraine will deliver its national flag to the Moon in 2022 as part of its first mission to the Earth's satellite, which it will carry out together with the British company Spacebit, according to the website of the Ukroboronprom state concern.

Earlier, the founder and CEO of Spacebit Pavel Tanasyuk said that Ukraine will take part in a mission to the Moon for the first time in 2022, which is organized by a British company. According to him, it is planned that during the mission to the Moon, equipment for scientific research will be delivered to the surface of the Earth's satellite, including measurements of the radiation level with a device developed in Ukraine. In addition, the British lunar rover, which will land on the moon, will use Ukrainian-made parts.

It is reported that "as part of the mission, the flag of Ukraine, printed on a 3D printer from Ukrainian titanium, will be delivered to the Earth satellite."

"It is a great honor for us to be the team thanks to which the flag of Ukraine will appear on the surface of the Moon for the first time in history and which will carry out the first Ukrainian mission to the Earth satellite. At the same time, synergy with the public sector is important in this area. We highly appreciate our cooperation with Ukroboronprom, in particular with Meridian OJSC, as well as with Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and we are open to a new partnership to jointly restore the image of Ukraine as a leading power on the world space arena" – the press service of the founder and executive director of Spacebit quotes.

The state concern's website also reported that, first of all, equipment will be sent to the Moon for soil research, testing of sampling technology, as well as collecting information about thermal properties and the magnetic field.

"First, the cargo will get to the large crater Lacus Mortis on the near side of the Moon, and then to the dark spot Oceanus Procellarum on the surface of the celestial body, which is interesting for scientists. Sensors produced at Ukrainian enterprises will collect information about the radiation background, and a special camera will broadcast a video stream from the surface. All the data obtained will be available to domestic scientists for the development of space programs. The mission is part of the NASA CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program - a commercial program for servicing cargo to the Moon" – the press service noted.

Source: 

https://www.russiadefence.net/t8631-nti-rogozin-thread-for-tantrums

Moved posts here.

Russian_Patriot_ wrote:Ukraine has decided to send its flag to the moon.
In addition, the British lunar rover, which will land on the moon, will use Ukrainian-made parts.

No critical parts one would hope...

Landing on the moon is hard enough without ham-stringing yourself with junk.

Russian_Patriot_ wrote:Ukraine has decided to send its flag to the moon.
In addition, the British lunar rover, which will land on the moon, will use Ukrainian-made parts.

RIP British lunar Rover, we hardly knew ye

Roscosmos plans to defend the project on nuclear space energy in the Cabinet of Ministers by 2022

MOSCOW, September 21. / TASS /. By the end of the year, Roskosmos expects to defend in the government of the Russian Federation the project on nuclear space energy, which includes the project of the nuclear tug "Zeus". This was announced on Tuesday by the general director of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin.

“I hope that by the end of the year we will defend the nuclear space energy project in the government,” Rogozin said during the Orbit of Youth scientific and practical conference.

According to the head of Roscosmos, the Russian Federation is now about seven years ahead of its competitors in space nuclear energy. A stand has now been created to test the elements of the Zeus nuclear tug. In particular, the problem with heat dumping has been practically solved.

In December last year, it became known that Roskosmos and KB Arsenal signed a contract for the development of a preliminary design of the nuclear tug Nuclon, which will be used for flights into deep space. The contract value is over 4.17 billion rubles. It was concluded on December 10. July 28, 2024 is indicated as the expiration date for the execution of the contract. At the end of December Rogozin announced that the device would be called Zeus. Its first mission is scheduled for 2030.

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Rogozin said that the fate of Sea Launch will be determined in the near future

MOSCOW, September 21. / TASS /. The future of the Sea Launch floating cosmodrome should be determined in the near future. This was announced by the general director of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on Tuesday during the scientific-practical conference "Orbit of Youth".

"Soon the fate of the sea launch will be definitively determined," Rogozin said.

The head of Roscosmos added that it is planned to adapt the floating spaceport for the launch of promising Soyuz-5 carrier rockets.

The Sea Launch cosmodrome consists of the Odyssey floating launch platform and the command vessel. The program operated until 2014 - 32 Zenit missile launches were carried out from a platform based off the coast of the United States. In 2014, the launch activities of Sea Launch were suspended, and in September 2016, the S7 group of companies became the owner of the rocket and space complex.

In the spring of 2020, the command ship and platform moved off the coast of the United States and docked at the Slavic Shipyard in Primorye.

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