Russian Launch Vehicles and their Spacecraft: Thoughts & News

Rmf wrote:problem with radars is they have to be close to earth for scanning and big antenna creates drag.
also power consumption means big solar panels and that creates additional drag quickly decaying orbit.
they used nuclear powerred batteries before...
but there is some changes now with rotating panels which offer least ressistance postition although less power.
also antenas are mesh type which is less draggy but still effective.
also with  ion propulsion metods now station keeping is easier and longer.
russia need many new radar satelites, resurs was great to awake establishment to its potential.

Rmf wrote:

Big_Gazza wrote:Agree with kvs, and I'll add that most of those failures happened early in the Protons development.  Over the last 35 years, proton has been very reliable, with most of the failures in this period being related to upper-stage (eg Briz) or payload problems, with the occasional human-factor thrown in.

Briz has had its share of problems, but they rarely seem to be caused by design issues - more like poor workmanship or outright malfeasance.  Any Russian launch to geostationary orbit is always going to be more contorted than an ESA launch (from equatorial French Guiana) or NASA (from Florida) due to the latitude of Baikonur and the requirement of Briz to make more engine firings to change orbital inclination and deliver the payload.  Briz has to work hard to acheive mission success and there is very little room for error or performance shortcomings (like a premature burn shutdown).  

Hopefully Krunichev have thrown enough resources in to fix the labour problems, and the FSB has managed to weed out those bastards who have been taking payments to throw a spanner in the works.  Saboteurs are the lowest form of life and should be shot...

what we have to remember is that , briz -m is/was a pure military project , designed as satelite killler , it was ment to fly solo on its own using advanced computer and precision multi- exaust (vernier) engine which can fire many times , with multiple droppable small tanks and many fireings to change its orbit and hunt enemy satelites.

it was not ment to cary and piggyback a payload (which can be as heavy as briz) on top of itself , that ment many modification to briz ,to remove military instruments anti satelite net and discs ,so it became more civilian briz-m or -km.
it replaced third stage block D , and offered more payload especially to GSO , mulitple payloads ,  and incertion of satelites into almost any orbit.

it has many tanks small ball like oxygen tanks are dropped one by one after exausted by engine fireing ,central fuel tank and donought fuel tank which is dropped ,many fuel lines and connections ,and center of gravity is constantly changing, developing briz-m was no easy task.
even today many pople dont know briz-m is controled from military command and final satelite insertion is done with them in charge.

George1 wrote:RSC Energia may offer Roscosmos the Sea Launch project
Russian Aviaton » Wednesday April 8, 2015 16:55 MSK

RSC Energia is considering the possibility of selling Sea Launch project to Roscosmos or a foreign company; the project may also be terminated due to bankruptcy, TASS reports with reference to a source familiar with the situation.

“Among possible scenarios: selling the project to another country or an investor, “nationalizing” the project by means of upgrading the facilities for launching Russian launch vehicles (first of all Angara-A3) instead of US ones,” the source said.

He also added that these scenarios might be integrated. For example, a foreign investor may fund the project and the facilities upgraded for launching Angara LVs may be located in one of the interested countries, he explained. The third scenario is bankruptcy, he added.

Earlier RSC Energia President Vladimir Solntsev said that three scenarios of further development of Sea Launch project are being elaborated. He promised that the scenarios would be presented to Roscosmos “soon”; after that one of them would be submitted to the government.

Sea Launch Company established in 1995 is the largest commercial international project for developing and operating a “floating spaceport” used to launch Zenit-3SL rockets with DM-SL upper stage manufactured by RSC Energia.

95% of the company’s shares are owned by Energia Overseas Limited (subsidiary of RSC Energia (Russia)), 3% - by Boeing, 2% - by Aker Solutions (Norway). The company is headquartered in Nyon (Switzerland).

The activities of the Sea Launch have been frozen.

flamming_python wrote:

George1 wrote:RSC Energia may offer Roscosmos the Sea Launch project
Russian Aviaton » Wednesday April 8, 2015 16:55 MSK

RSC Energia is considering the possibility of selling Sea Launch project to Roscosmos or a foreign company; the project may also be terminated due to bankruptcy, TASS reports with reference to a source familiar with the situation.

“Among possible scenarios: selling the project to another country or an investor, “nationalizing” the project by means of upgrading the facilities for launching Russian launch vehicles (first of all Angara-A3) instead of US ones,” the source said.

He also added that these scenarios might be integrated. For example, a foreign investor may fund the project and the facilities upgraded for launching Angara LVs may be located in one of the interested countries, he explained. The third scenario is bankruptcy, he added.

Earlier RSC Energia President Vladimir Solntsev said that three scenarios of further development of Sea Launch project are being elaborated. He promised that the scenarios would be presented to Roscosmos “soon”; after that one of them would be submitted to the government.

Sea Launch Company established in 1995 is the largest commercial international project for developing and operating a “floating spaceport” used to launch Zenit-3SL rockets with DM-SL upper stage manufactured by RSC Energia.

95% of the company’s shares are owned by Energia Overseas Limited (subsidiary of RSC Energia (Russia)), 3% - by Boeing, 2% - by Aker Solutions (Norway). The company is headquartered in Nyon (Switzerland).

The activities of the Sea Launch have been frozen.

Terminate the project, sell off the assets and move onto better things.

The idea had its run, to continue further would require further investment and co-operation with Ukrainian agencies and aerospace companies; however that sort of thing is no longer feasible now, which makes the project no longer feasible either and undoubtedly yet another source of potential pain and wrangling that is just not in any shape, way or form - worth it.