Russian Launch Vehicles and their Spacecraft: Thoughts & News

Gazputin wrote:personally I think just because the Saturn 5 was huge... doesn't mean it was right
to me it was ridiculous
what did they do with that fn great rocket after the Moon wanks ? …. nothing
it had no secondary purpose at all …

it makes eminently more sense to me to launch components and assemble them in Earth's orbit on "sane sized" rockets at a space station

so my point is this ….
who cares if the astronauts launch from Baikonur … ? on a Soyuz-5 ….

and Vostochny which will have the space freighter the Angara A-5 (non-human rated) sending up the bulk of the components … before hand
why do they need to drill a new bigger tunnel ? at all ?

some of the upper stages currently used on Soyuz at Vostochny are flown in already …
and lets face it most of the satellites will always be flown in too ….

I'd be amazed if the Soyuz-5 based "Super rocket" pad  "planned" for Vostochny  is ever built ….
and if they need for some reason to get astronauts into orbit from Vostochny they've always got the Soyuz-2 pad …

if you have an orbiting "assembly" plant …. who needs a "super rocket" ? … for what  ?
I don't buy it ...

Hole wrote:SpaceX is a sign of failure for the political system in murica. Instead of giving NASA a billion more for some projects (even if this entitiy is highly corrupt), they spend billions of taxpayer money on some moron and his toys.

Hole wrote:I don´t give a shit about him or the assholes that give him money. But some people think that this is a great example for Russia and that the russian government should act like the morons in Washington.

He is very good at marketing and looking great for PR. But that is all he is - a sales man.

GarryB wrote:

He is very good at marketing and looking great for PR. But that is all he is - a sales man.

Good description for the US...

“The purpose of today’s test was to pressurize systems to the max, so the outcome was not completely unexpected,” SpaceX said in a statement. “There were no injuries, nor is this a serious setback.”

Yes, indeed. Carpetbaggers and snake oil peddlers.

The robot pilot of the ship "Eagle" will make it look like a person

At the Android Technology NGO, they said that the android will be made smaller, lighter and "visually nicer" than the Fedor robot

MOSCOW, January 15. / TASS /. The android robot of the Tester project, which will control the promising Russian spacecraft Orel, will be made smaller, lighter and visually nicer than the Fedora robot flying to the International Space Station. This was reported by TASS in the press service of the NGO Android Technology.

“Outwardly, it will look like a person. It will definitely be smaller and lighter than FEDOR. Visually it will be more pleasant: a more streamlined design and more plastic elements (which can bend during movements - approx. TASS),” the company noted, responding to the corresponding question. The press service did not exclude that the Test robot could be covered with fabric protection.

In the "Android technology" specified that another feature of the new android will be a more functional capture. The robot "Fedor" captures are made in the form of five-fingered hands, repeating human.

According to the developers, the final appearance of the robot will be determined after signing the contract with Roscosmos. "If this happens before the end of the quarter, then the appearance will be determined by the end of 2020, and ground tests will begin in 2022," the press service of Android Technology explained.

Earlier, Evgeny Dudorov, executive director of the Android Technology NGO, told TASS that during the first two flights, the Orel ship would be controlled by the Test Project robot. In turn, the executive director of Roscosmos for promising programs and science, Alexander Bloshenko, in an interview with TASS, noted that the android "will click on the buttons," that is, mechanically interact with the ship's controls.

The first launch of Orla without astronauts on board is planned for 2023 from Vostochny Cosmodrome; the docking of the ship during this flight with the International Space Station is not provided. In 2024, also without astronauts, the Eagle will perform a second flight, followed by docking with the ISS. Manned spacecraft flights will begin in 2025.

The Soyuz-5 rocket will be ready for the start of flight tests in 2022. It will be issued in three versions: "Soyuz-5" in the light heavy class (17 tons at the IEO) for Baikonur; "Soyuz-6" in the middle class (9 tons per IEO) for Baikonur; "Soyuz-7" in the middle class (13 tons per DOE) for "Sea launch"

Currently traveling at 10 knots near Catalina island the Sea Launch Commander is performing sea trials. We have been working to prepare the ship and platform for return to Russia, this test is expected to take two days. Normal practice, we have conducted sea trials before departure after any extended downtime. This has been the longest period of inactivity, 5.5 years, since new 23 years ago.

Floating cosmodrome “Sea launch” began to relocate from the USA to Russia

Big_Gazza wrote:Even better is that S7 appears to have no plans to launch Zenits, and orders to the Banderite filth have been cancelled   Ukropi launch equipment has now been removed from the platform for its transfer to Russia, so bye bye Yuzmash/Yuznoye, I guess its a long slow descent into bankruptcy for them (or else being purchased by the ChiComs if Kiev can muster the courage to defy the Commisars in Washington). Too bad they were taken over by Nazi Russophobe trash and run into the ground, but thats how the chips fall.  

It's not 100% clear what S7 will launch from the platform, but its shaping up to be a variant of Soyuz 5.

kvs wrote:The platform was designed around the Zenit which used the RD-171.   So the Soyuz-5 is the logical replacement since it going to have basically
the same characteristics.

Big_Gazza wrote:

kvs wrote:The platform was designed around the Zenit which used the RD-171.   So the Soyuz-5 is the logical replacement since it going to have basically
the same characteristics.

Soyuz-5/Irtysh will be a significantly superior launcher to the Zenit.  Improvements in materials, manufacturing technologies and more efficient engines result in a greatly improved payload weight (18T to LEO compared to <14T for Zenit).

Plus the basic Irtsyh core can be clustered to build modular SHLVs.  Whats not to love?  

For all the (often justified) flack that Roscosmos has taken over the somewhat aimless directions they have taken within their budget-constrained operating space,  I think the evolving architecture of modular Angara and Irtysh builds is just about ideal.

Once they are flying on a routine basis, the Russians can address reuseability by introducing fly-back versions of the strap-on boosters like the Baikal concept.  For medium-to-heavy lift launchers (*), I'm unconvinced that recovery of the core is really desirable as it is best to keep the core firing up to 2nd stage separation and get the 2nd stage as high and fast as possible.  The current fly-back method of SpaceX requires the core to retain sufficient fuel to descend under its own power, and this is a waste of energy at exactly the point in the flight where that energy can be used most efficiently.  Its better to burn the core to completion and dispose of it to achieve max performance, and to introduce recoverable technology to the strap-ons which burn fast and are released at lower altitudes.  Recoverable technologies (like swing-out wing and air-breathing engines for cross-range capability) will add weight to the strap-on, but this is compensated for by extra engine power & fuel, in a similar way that solids are used. All they need to do is to get the core to altitude and speed, and their mass inefficiencies mean squat.

(*) IMHO light class launchers are an exception to this rule.  Inefficiencies in the fly-back booster are secondary to the low cost of the expendable portion (2nd stage and payload stage).