Russian Space Program: News & Discussion #3

PapaDragon wrote:
Ditching Kazakhstan is one of main benefits of Angara project

Those leeches have been shaking down Russia for decades

We shall see, they still have couple of massive test ranges in kazakhastan and I don't think they would give up that easily and also what is the alternative to soyuz landings? From what I read frozen arctic inlands or taiga were 2nd or 3 rd preference when they selected Baikanour back then

gbu48098 wrote:..... and also what is the alternative to soyuz landings?

PTK-NP which should have been finished 5 years ago

PapaDragon wrote:

gbu48098 wrote:..... and also what is the alternative to soyuz landings?

PTK-NP which should have been finished 5 years ago

5 years ago, there was no launch rocket for him.

Scorpius wrote:

PapaDragon wrote:

gbu48098 wrote:..... and also what is the alternative to soyuz landings?

PTK-NP which should have been finished 5 years ago

5 years ago, there was no launch rocket for him.

Rocket was supposed to be finished as well

Like I always say, magical 5 years

Fanboys love to forget empty promises, I don't

Big_Gazza wrote:The scientific and power module will be launched on the Angara from the Vostochny cosmodrome

KOROLEV / Moscow region /, April 23. / TASS /. The scientific energy module (NEM) will be launched to the Russian orbital service station on the Angara launch vehicle. This was announced to reporters on Friday by Vladimir Soloviev, Flight Director of the ISS Russian Segment (RS), First Deputy General Designer for Flight Operation, Testing of Rocket and Space Complexes and Systems of RSC Energia.

"[NEM] will fly not on Proton, but on Angara," Solovyov said, adding that the launch would be carried out from the Vostochny cosmodrome.

According to the first deputy general designer for flight operations, tests of rocket-space complexes and systems of RSC Energia, it will take 1.5-2 years to convert NEM into a new station.

NEM will be the first module of the Russian orbital service station, the base module will be launched in 2028, Solovyov said.

"We will start working on it [on the basic module] when the NEM is still on the ground," he said, adding that this module will be more modern than the NEM.

In turn, the chief designer of the scientific and energy module, Aleksey Videev, noted that the basic module will be launched in 2028.

source

2028?    The BS has already started??? FFS....

Edit:  Apparently the 2028 NEM refers to the 1st build NEM 1D/2D that was built for ISS. It will be refurbished to new design and will launch in 2028.  The 2nd build NEM 1L/2L will launch in 2025.  

Seeing is believing however, and I'll hold judgement until the reality becomes clearer.  

Edit:  First manned flight in 2026 source

Edit: Flights to ROS are planned to be from Baikonour & Vostochny, no plans currently to fly from military cosmodrome Plesetsk  source

Everything is simple: in 2025, NEM-1, which was prepared as an ISS module, should launch. It will be reworked so that it is capable of independent flight. In 2024, it is planned to begin construction of NEM-2, which will become the base module of the new station. That is, NEM-1 will be an adapted version, and NEM-2 will be a full-fledged base unit of the station. In addition, it is necessary to build a node module-2, which will serve as a central hub, which will be both a docking station and a connecting module between NEM-1 and NEM-2. This will be the end of the deployment of the first stage (until 2030).
The second stage (until 2035) should include a universal laboratory module capable of undocking and flying independently for months, a spacecraft assembly and maintenance module, as well as a transformable module. In total, it is planned that the Russian space station will have an internal volume of almost two-thirds of the ISS (667 m3 versus 916 m3).

PapaDragon wrote:

Scorpius wrote:

PapaDragon wrote:

gbu48098 wrote:..... and also what is the alternative to soyuz landings?

PTK-NP which should have been finished 5 years ago

5 years ago, there was no launch rocket for him.

Rocket was supposed to be finished as well

Like I always say, magical 5 years

Fanboys love to forget empty promises, I don't

Just to remind you - this is the first rocket developed from scratch since the collapse of the USSR.

PapaDragon wrote:

Rocket was supposed to be finished as well

Like I always say, magical 5 years

Fanboys love to forget empty promises, I don't

Next two years should make it clear in terms of Angara 5 and its heavier versions but realistically speaking looking close to 2030 for PTK-NP to replace soyuz manned. As of now its 2025, so adding 5 the way these things get postponed should put it close to 2030 ish...

hmmmm very surprised I did not see this posted here or its posted on another thread .

https://ria.ru/20210418/kosmos-1728810284.html

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, Apr 18 - RIA Novosti. Plans for manned flights of Russian cosmonauts on Moonas well as missions to Mars discussed at a meeting with the Russian president Vladimir Putinwhich took place on The Day of Cosmonautics, April 12.
"Scheduled manned flights to the moon, missions to Mars" - announced on the air of the TV channel "Russia 1" in the program "Moscow. kremlin. Putin" in the story of Pavel Sarubin.
This is stated in the story about the meeting with the president.

It was also reported on the air that a transport and energy complex with a nuclear power propulsion system will be created for flights into deep space. Such installation has been developed in the country since 2010.
"The real design of this transport and energy module is already. I think it will be a breakthrough," the head of Roscosmos said on air. Dmitry Rogozin.

Nuclear "zevs"
He had previously reported that Russia the first elements of the space tug with a nuclear propulsion system have already been manufactured.
It has been reported that the nuclear tug for flights to the Moon and the planets of the solar system will be called "zevs" and the project itself is named "Nuklon".
Last year Roscosmos signed a contract worth 4.2 billion rubles for the development of the tug project - the work is scheduled to be completed by July 2024. According to the document, one of the first tasks of the tug could be the study of the moon. In the future, it will be needed for flights to Venus and Jupiter.
The Roscosmos Keldysh Center, together with the companies, is working on the engine Rosatoma. The use of a nuclear engine in spacecraft is being developed by another company of the rocket and space industry - KB "Arsenal". Earlier, the state corporation Roscosmos in one of its videos demonstrated the conceptual appearance of a new spacecraft with a nuclear power plant.

We know that Nuklon they are jumping from the moon to Venus and than to one of Jupiters moons, but what is Zevs? Do they mean they are going to hop across all the planets when they refer it to as planets of the solar system?

Nuclear tug's name will be Zevs (Zeus)

Overall project's name is Nukleon

PapaDragon wrote:
Nuclear tug's name will be Zevs (Zeus)

Overall project's name is Nukleon

Only good news or a sigh of relief is that they said manned mission to Mars, because there are barely news reports about it which made me assume that Roscosomos lacked the ambition, while another space company shows more ambition chucking rockets into orbit to eventually get to Mars

thegopnik wrote:

PapaDragon wrote:
Nuclear tug's name will be Zevs (Zeus)

Overall project's name is Nukleon

Only good news or a sigh of relief is that they said manned mission to Mars, because there are barely news reports about it which made me assume that Roscosomos lacked the ambition, while another space company shows more ambition chucking rockets into orbit to eventually get to Mars

Russia should refine the Nuklon project into a faster vehicle for manned missions to Mars. The days of the Moon race are long over and there is no point
for such theater now. Let Musk or whomever get there in tin cans. Who cares. How one gets there is way more interesting and useful for technological
development.

kvs wrote:

thegopnik wrote:

PapaDragon wrote:
Nuclear tug's name will be Zevs (Zeus)

Overall project's name is Nukleon

Only good news or a sigh of relief is that they said manned mission to Mars, because there are barely news reports about it which made me assume that Roscosomos lacked the ambition, while another space company shows more ambition chucking rockets into orbit to eventually get to Mars

Russia should refine the Nuklon project into a faster vehicle for manned missions to Mars.   The days of the Moon race are long over and there is no point
for such theater now.   Let Musk or whomever get there in tin cans.   Who cares.   How one gets there is way more interesting and useful for technological
development.  

Russia cant speed up the process since safety 1st is their concept of getting to Mars. don't want to send manned crew with solar panels to Jupiter's moon Europa to receive 2 kilowatts, or kill them in Jupiter's radiation belt as saying its not that dangerous. Space X will be the 1st company to send dead bodies to Mars I am more concerned about more news reports on Russia's take on interplanetary travel passed the moon because I know they are capable my concern is the funding. **** I would even like them to send people to Venus but to have those humans just float in the atmosphere with deployable blimps or have spacecrafts pick them up and head back to earth because I heard it is habitable at 70 degrees Fahrenheit with breathable air if your floating in the air. I want more nuclear projects than just nuklon.

"Creation of a new generation of sensor-transforming equipment for advanced rocket and space technology (launch vehicles, spacecraft, launch complexes) in terms of creating sensor-transforming equipment for ground-based space infrastructure in 2021-2025" (Code of the ROC: "Transfiguration" (NKI-2)).  Starting price: 83,930,000.00 ₽

"Creation of a new generation of sensor-transforming equipment for advanced rocket and space technology (launch vehicles, spacecraft, launch complexes) in terms of creating sensor-transforming equipment for launch vehicles." The OCD cipher: "Transfiguration" (SV-2). Starting price: 87,156,600.00 ₽

"Development and development of technological processes for the creation of rocket and space technology products, the creation of prototypes of special technological equipment" in the period 2021-2025. OCD code: "Progress-2025 "(2025). Starting price: 1,274,273,800.00 ₽

"System research to substantiate the feasibility and implementation of the creation of space vehicles for socio-economic, scientific and dual-use purposes in terms of system pre-design and design-search research to substantiate programs for the creation, technical appearance and main characteristics of launch vehicle complexes, interorbital transportation and ground-based space infrastructure objects". NIR code: "Avangard "(Flagship-3). Starting price: 600,581,600.00 ₽

"Applied research and design of key elements and technologies for manufacturing materials, devices, sensor-transforming equipment and systems based on it for rocket and space technology products" (Code of research and development "Platform"). Starting price: 393,490,000.00 ₽

"Applied innovative research of technologies for creating rocket engines, propulsion and power plants, advanced rocket and space technology products and their key elements in the work of 2021-2025" (Research code: "Fast and Furious" (2025). Starting price: 710,976,160.00 ₽

"System research to substantiate the feasibility and implementation of the creation of space means of socio-economic, scientific and dual-use in terms of system design and search research to substantiate the concepts of creating and developing automatic space complexes in the interests of the socio-economic sphere, science and national security of Russia" in 2021-2023" (Research code: "Avangard" (Apparatuses-3). Starting price: 627,839,200.00 ₽

"System and design-search research on the development of an on-board intelligent computing complex in the interests of solving the target tasks of the multi-satellite orbital group of remote sensing". NIR code: "Neuroborth". Starting price: 802,435,000.00 ₽

New purchases of Roscosmos, which are in the public domain.

PapaDragon wrote:
Nuclear tug's name will be Zevs (Zeus)

Overall project's name is Nukleon

In the new purchase of Roscosmos for research work on the creation of new space technologies, the Martian expedition complex with a nuclear heat engine is clearly mentioned as part of the technical task - and this is definitely not Zeus, and has nothing to do with the ROC "Nucleon".

So let me get this cluster **** news source straight Zevs is the name of the nuclear spacecraft for project nuklon. However there is another nuclear engine design by KB arsenal and I am assuming that is a separate project from nuklon?

thegopnik wrote:So let me get this cluster **** news source straight Zevs is the name of the nuclear spacecraft for project nuklon. However there is another nuclear engine design by KB arsenal and I am assuming that is a separate project from nuklon?

Most likely, this development does not have a designated executor yet. The fact is that the Martian expedition complex in the classical sense of the Soviet / Russian space industry is a modular structure with a mass of 200-600 tons and energy supply at the level of 15-45 megawatts.
As for the nuclear heat engine - so far, only one successful working prototype is known, this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RD-0410
But the very mention of these two terms speaks volumes.

So from what I understand this is going to have a similar profile to the proposed (then cancelled) Uncle Sham JIMO spacecraft.
A nuclear electric spacecraft for going beyond Mars, to do missions around Jupiter and Saturn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Icy_Moons_Orbiter

If that is the case it won't be nuclear thermal.

This is really cutting edge and advanced stuff. This is a reactor type unique and not used in Russia.
It seems to use a high temperature gas core reactor. This would be more similar to how pebble bed reactor works.
But I wouldn't be surprised if it was prismatic instead of pebble bed.

This will require new high power ion engines of a type never done both inside and outside Russia.
https://beyondnerva.com/2020/01/29/transport-and-energy-module/

Some reference pictures for the Soviet "TOPAZ" atomic space reactor. I've processed some to enlarge them...





https://twitter.com/Nick_Stevens_Gr/status/1387506018842730498

https://www.roscosmos.ru/31025/

At the Baikonur cosmodrome, the planned operations of the final stage of factory control tests (ZKI) of the Nauka module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station under the program of ground prelaunch preparation in the assembly and testing building of site No. 254 continue.

In accordance with the work schedule, the technical complex begins a cycle of pneumatic vacuum tests of the Nauka module, designed to accurately control the high requirements for the tightness of large compartments and on-board systems in ground conditions. The module went through preparatory operations, was filled with a helium-air gas mixture and placed in a VK-17T523MR vacuum chamber.

Pneumatic vacuum tests are designed for a month, during which the tightness of the hull, hatches and docking units, as well as the functioning of pneumatic hydraulic systems and external hydraulic circuits will be checked. Then it is planned to install the radiator panels and fill the circuit of the temperature control system, as well as the final installation of the European ERA manipulator. After the final control tests, an extensive program of land-based factory control tests will be completed with the procedure of material and technical acceptance of the Nauka module by the official customer - the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia named after S.P. Queen (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation).

The work on the technical complex will be carried out by specialists from RSC Energia and the Yuzhny Space Center (a branch of the Center for Operation of Ground Space Infrastructure Facilities, part of Roskosmos) as part of the regular preparation of the product with an estimated duration of 54 days. For this period, it is planned to install solar panels, place the delivered cargo and control weighing of the module, assemble the space warhead, refuel the module's tanks with propellants and general assembly of the space rocket.

Laboratory module "Science" is a research module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station, developed by RSC Energia named after S.P. Korolyov in cooperation with the State Research and Development Center named after M.V. Khrunichev (part of Roscosmos) in order to expand the functionality of the Russian segment of the ISS.

This is such a big **** you

Before: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56261574

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has invited eight members of the public to join him for a trip around the Moon on Elon Musk's SpaceX flight.

"I want people from all kinds of backgrounds to join," he said in a video via Twitter, where he also shared a link to application details.

He said he will pay for the entire journey, so those who come onboard will fly for free.

The mission, called dearMoon, is scheduled to fly in 2023.

After: https://www.roscosmos.ru/31043/

"Space Adventures, a leading provider of space tourism services, announces the start of preparations for the flight to the International Space Station of Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, who successfully passed the medical commission. Maedara will fly to the ISS with his assistant Jozo Hirano on the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch on December 8, 2021 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome."

EDIT: Hey papadragon the movie is being co-produced by Rogozin, lets get front row tickets

China just landed its Mars lander and accompanying rover:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-05-15/China-s-probe-lands-on-Mars-10h4ctrNmla/index.html

The descent scheme was also simpler and more robust. I congratulate China on its steady and solid progress. Last month it had launched the first of its modular space station parts successfully despite the shameless western yapping about a reentering 3rd stage.

Now China has truly surpassed the milestones of the Soviet Union which it has tried to vigorously copy. This is the latest wakeup call for Russia. For those arguing that exoplanet exploration is of little importance and a waste of funds, I would say that space programs as a whole are more than about meeting your satellite launching needs. They are also about inspiring the next generation of scientists and,  in the long run, laying down a foundation for your space economy prospects. You can't play catch up with some things effectively once they are too far gone.

I know Russia has its own programs in place. There is, for instance, the upcoming collaborative Mars campaign with ESA and some others too. But in my opinion they are too little too far in between as compared to what its solid space capacity base allows Russia.

I am happy for China, but this is not a dick length measuring contest. None of the tech in that lander matters much. And your implicit
claim is that Russia can't do anything similar. Whatever.

Well Russia failed plenty of Mars missions. Like Mars 96 or Fobos-Grunt. Only ExoMars 2016 worked properly.
I can understand not wanting to spend a lot of money on such missions though.

Russia CAN do something about it but only if it starts to design and fund worthwhile programs for it.

What is frustrating is that Russia right now has all the critical things to make it happen, the engines, the rockets, the spacecraft buses and the know how to put it all together. But right now it is not putting any of it to further its long term interests in space.

And, yes, space has always been a 'privates' measuring contest, whether you admit it or not. The cold war gave us our most memorable achievements in space.

Are you aware of the Venera program from the Soviet Union? It gave us the only photographs of the surface of Venus. It is still magical to look at Venus's hazy atmosphere and brown soil. Now, that is something nobody can take away from Russia. Until somebody drives a rover there, that is.