Russian Space Program: News & Discussion #4

Moscow. 5th of April. INTERFAX.RU - The State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation "Research Center named after M.V. Keldysh" (part of Roskosmos) is currently developing and testing ion engines for a space nuclear tug, said Vladimir Koshlakov, director general of the organization.

"We have carried out a full cycle of their development (ion engines - IF) to use them as part of a nuclear tug that our country is creating," Koshlakov told reporters on Wednesday.

According to him, these engines are distinguished by high specific characteristics, so it is advisable to use them for studying distant planets and missions.

He also said that individual elements for a nuclear tug are being tested, for example, a turbogenerator, where the thermal energy of a nuclear reactor is converted into electrical energy.

Earlier it was reported about the development of a space nuclear installation with a capacity of up to 1 megawatt. The project was named "Zeus". On May 22, 2021, Alexander Bloshenko, executive director of Roscosmos for advanced programs and science, announced that the first sample of the Zeus orbital nuclear installation would be ready by 2030.

Nuclear power has already been used in space: in the period from 1970 to 1988, 32 spacecraft with a thermoelectric nuclear power plant were launched in the USSR, and in the period from 1960 to 1980, a nuclear rocket engine was developed and tested at the Semipalatinsk test site.

The ion propulsion is a type of electric rocket propulsion. The principle of operation of the engine is based on the creation of jet thrust based on ionized gas accelerated to high speeds in an electric field. Such engines have a significantly lower thrust compared to chemical ones, but they are distinguished by low fuel consumption and duration of operation - the period of continuous operation can be calculated for years.

Moscow. April 10th. INTERFAX.RU - Roskosmos is completing the production of the Angara-A5 heavy-class launch vehicle for the first launch from Vostochny, its delivery to the cosmodrome is expected in September this year, Andrei Yelchaninov, the first deputy head of Roscosmos, said in an interview with Interfax .

"The manufacture of the Angara-A5 rocket, intended for flight tests, is nearing completion. The expected delivery date for the Angara-A5 to the Vostochny Cosmodrome is September 2023," Yelchaninov said.

Also, according to him, in May 2023, it is planned to supply a full-size electric refueling mock-up of the Angara heavy rocket to the cosmodrome for comprehensive testing of units and systems of the technical and launch complexes.

“All this makes it possible to ensure readiness for the start of flight tests of the heavy-class space rocket complex in 2023,” said the first deputy head of Roscosmos.

Earlier it was reported that the first launch of the Angara launch vehicle as part of flight tests from the Vostochny cosmodrome is scheduled for December 2023.

On January 19, the head of Roskosmos, Yuri Borisov, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that work on creating a launch complex for Angara launch vehicles at the Vostochny cosmodrome would be completed in 2023.

General Director of the enterprise Alexei Varochko spoke about the completion of the preliminary design of the heavy-class launch vehicle with improved energy characteristics "Angara-A5M"

MOSCOW, 10 April. /TASS/. Center them. M. V. Khrunicheva (part of Roskosmos) will adapt the Angara-A5M launch vehicle for launching modules of the promising Russian Orbital Station (ROS). This was announced in an interview with TASS by the general director of the enterprise Alexei Varochko.

"The upgraded Angara-A5M carrier rocket will be used to launch the ROS modules. Currently, preliminary design is underway to adapt the rocket to various modules that will be the basic elements of the new Russian orbital station," Varochko said.

Also, the draft design of the Angara-A5M heavy-class launch vehicle with improved energy characteristics has already been completed, and design documentation is being developed.

In April 2021, Yuri Borisov, who at that time was the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, stated that the state of the ISS leaves much to be desired, so Russia can focus on creating its own orbital station. It is now in its preliminary design. In October 2022, Deputy Prime Minister - Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov told reporters that the preliminary cost of creating a promising Russian orbital station is already known.

As reported in February in an interview with TASS, Deputy General Designer of the Rocket and Space Corporation (RKK) Energia (part of Roscosmos), Chief Designer of ROS Vladimir Kozhevnikov, the launch date of the first, scientific and energy, module is planned for the end of 2027, the hub, airlock , basic and target modules - for the period 2028-2030.

MOSCOW, 10 April. /TASS/. Center them. M.V. Khrunicheva (part of Roskosmos) has begun manufacturing some elements of the first Rokot-M flight launch vehicle with a domestic control system instead of the Ukrainian one. This was announced in an interview with TASS by the general director of the enterprise Alexei Varochko.

"As part of the Rokot-M project, a contract was made with our cooperation on component parts, bench products are being manufactured, as well as a number of elements of the first flight rocket with long production times," Varochko said.

In August 2018, in the materials of the Center. M. V. Khrunichev, presented at the Army-2018 forum, it was reported that the company is working on the creation of the Rokot-2 launch vehicle with a new control system that will replace the Ukrainian one installed on the Rokot missiles. Initially, the launch was planned for 2022.

In May last year, the Director General of the Center. M. V. Khrunicheva said in an interview with TASS that after a detailed audit of the equipment for the Rokot, experts came to the conclusion that it was also necessary to put in order the equipment that had been in operation for a long time and had already exhausted its resource. Therefore, now the first launch of the Rokot-M launch vehicle from the Plesetsk cosmodrome is planned for 2024.

Rosatom to produce a prototype plasma engine for space flights in 2024

MOSCOW, April 10 - RIA Novosti. Specialists of the Rosatom enterprise Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research (TRINITI) are scheduled to manufacture a prototype plasma rocket engine for space flights in 2024, the press service of the nuclear state corporation reported.

"As part of the work on creating a prototype of a plasma rocket engine in 2022, the institute created a plasma accelerator with a system for preliminary ionization of the working fluid, experimentally studied the energy balance in a plasma flow with a high specific impulse and developed methods for increasing the service life of electrodes in it. After completion of all work in 2024 In 2019, the institute will produce a prototype engine with increased thrust and specific impulse parameters," the report says.

MOSCOW, April 19 - RIA Novosti. Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin, while working in open space, and Andrei Fedyaev, at the control panel of the manipulator, transferred the radiator from the Rassvet ISS module to the Nauka module, Roscosmos is broadcasting the exit.

"The radiator is already fully attached to the Nauka module," the broadcaster said.

Prokopiev and Petelin went into open space at 04.41 Moscow time. They undocked the electrical cable between the additional radiation heat exchanger (radiator) and the Rassvet module, dismantled the plug from the radiator and opened the four locks that attached it to the module. After that, the radiator was transferred using the ERA manipulator, which was controlled by Fedyaev from inside the station, to the Nauka module. After the transfer, Prokopiev and Petelin dismantled the docking plugs from the Nauka module and docked the radiator with the module. Now they have to connect the electrical cable.

The radiator is needed to conduct experiments on the multi-purpose laboratory module "Science".

“We intend to complete the implementation of the Baiterek project”

Yuri Borisov held a working meeting in Astana with the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan Bagdat Musin.

The parties discussed the synchronization of work on the creation of the Soyuz-5 rocket and the launch complex at Baikonur under the Baiterek project.

The parties noted the strategic importance of the project and agreed to continue work on its implementation.

On Monday, Yuri Borisov held a meeting at the Progress RCC in Samara dedicated to the creation of the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle.