Russian Space Program: News & Discussion #4

Daniel_Admassu wrote:
Normally radiative cooling, specifically in black body radiation,  is highly inefficient due to the low rate of thermal loss per unit surface area. Hence the large radiators on spacecraft like the ISS.

PARIS, 10 February. /TASS/. The Soyuz-ST-B carrier rocket with the Fregat-M upper stage and 34 OneWeb spacecraft launched on Thursday from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana.

MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. A Soyuz-2.1 rocket carrying the Progress cargo spacecraft has blasted off from Site 31 at the Baikonur spaceport, according to a live broadcast on the website of Russia’s Roscosmos State Space Agency.

The Progress MS-19 cargo spacecraft has separated from the third stage of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket, according to a live broadcast on the website of Russia’s Roscosmos State Space Agency.

The spacecraft, scheduled to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:08 am Moscow time on February 17, will spend 370 days in orbit.

This was the first launch from Baikonur in 2022. The spacecraft is expected to deliver about 1,600 kilograms of cargo to the ISS, including onboard equipment, cables for the Nauka laboratory module, supplies for the life-support system, medical monitoring devices and sanitary supplies, clothes and food for cosmonauts, target loads for scientific research and experiments, as well as 430 kilograms of fuel components, 420 liters of drinking water and 40 kilograms of compressed nitrogen tanks.

Roscosmos said earlier that the Progress spacecraft would also deliver supplies to address a leak in the Zvezda module. In addition, the spacecraft is carrying six nanosatellites created at Russia’s Southwestern State University, which will be launched from the ISS during spacewalks as part of the Radioskaf scientific and educational experiment.

According to Roskosmos, the supplies to be delivered to the ISS aboard Progress MS-19 included 431 kilogram of propellant for refueling the station, 420 liters of water in the tanks of the Rodnik system and 40 kilograms of compressed air in the tanks of the oxygen supply system.

In its pressurized cargo section, the spacecraft was to carry 1,632 kilograms of dry cargo for the crew and equipment including cable sets for the upgrades of the Nauka module, medical and hygiene supplies, clothing and standard food packages for the Expedition 66 crew.

The onboard cargo included materials for the following experiments:

• Neirolab kits for the Pilot-T experiment series studying the influence of space flight on the quality of cosmonauts' professional activities;
  
• Packages for Vozdukh and Poverkhnost kits for the Aseptik experiment seeking the development of sterility measures during biological research in space flight;
  
• Bioproby kit for the Biodegradatsiya experiment looking at the influence of micro-flora on structural materials in space and at the development of biological safety methods in space flight;
  
• Biomodul kit for the Fotobioreaktor experiment studying the possibility of producing food and oxygen out of photo-synthetic Spirulina algae in weightlessness;
  
• Chashki and Probirki kits for the Biomag-M experiment studying the influence of space flight on the properties of organisms protected by the Earth's magnetic field;
  
• BOP, PM and PS kits for the Kaskad experiment, studying effective methods of biotechnological production of cellular cultures in microgravity;
  
• Probiovit kits for development of production techniques in microgravity used in pharmacological products with immunological properties.
  

In its cargo bay, Progress MS-19 also carried six cubsat-class satellites: YuZGU-55 from No. 5 to No. 10 developed by the South-Western University, in the city of Kursk, for the Radioskaf experiments and intended for launch during spacewalks, Roskosmos said.

On February 18, 2022, a fuel tank (G tank) of the Soyuz-5 LV first-stage bench was sent from JSC RCC Progress to JSC TsNIIMash for static tests.

At present, specialists of RCC Progress JSC, together with specialists of TsNIIMash JSC, have begun the final stage of static tests of the G tank of the first stage of the promising Soyuz-5 rocket - confirmation of strength and admission to cold and fire tests.

Tank strength testing is carried out on two assemblies. The first stage is carried out on the basis of a testabout the center of the RCC "Progress" and provides an imitation of the transportation of the tank. The second stage - at the experimental base of the Center for Strength of JSC "TsNIIMash" - provides for the simulation of the force impact of the oxygen-kerosene rocket engine RD-171MV on the tank structure during firing bench tests.

Conducting static tests of the Soyuz-5 first-stage fuel tank is a significant step in the production of a new generation launch vehicle for Progress RCC JSC. In 2021, the specialists of the enterprise on the basis of the test center conducted static tests of the oxidizer tank to confirm the strength and admission to cold and fire tests of the bench block of the first stage of the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle.

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Center them. M. V. Khrunichev replaced low-quality components in all Proton-M launch vehicles, where they were found. This was announced to reporters on Tuesday by the Director General of the Center. M. V. Khrunichev Alexey Varochko.

"We have replaced all the components on those machines on which we found low-quality components," Varochko said.

According to the director general of the Center Khrunichev, after the discovery of low-quality components (hardware, bolts), the entire batch of missiles was recalled for testing in order to be sure of their reliability.

In March 2020, a number of media outlets, citing the Director General of the Center. Khrunicheva Varochko said that the Proton-M launch vehicle for launching the ExoMars mission would be rechecked for low-quality components, similar to those found in the rocket for launching Express communication satellites.

MOSCOW, 25 February. /TASS/. Funding for the Venera-D mission will begin this year, and funds have also been allocated for new lunar vehicles. This was announced today by the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin.

"This year we are starting to start financing the mission to Venus - Venera-D. We have allocated funds for new lunar vehicles - the orbital Luna-26 and the heavy landing Luna-27. We are deploying work on the new space observatory Spektr-UF "Last year, with the support of the President of the Russian Federation, we secured funding for the development of scientific space," Rogozin said in an interview with Channel One .

The Venera-D mission consists of Russian landers and orbiters. It was previously planned that this project would be joint with the United States: at the end of 2013, a joint working group was created, but its activities were suspended for some time. In the fall of 2015, she resumed her work.

Venera-D is proposed to be launched using the Angara-A5 heavy launch vehicle. The estimated launch date for the mission was 2029. Earlier, Oleg Korablev, Deputy Director of IKI RAS, said that the cost of development work in the framework of the Venera-D project would be approximately 17 billion rubles. According to the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeyev, the cost of the mission could reach $1 billion.

Hole wrote:Engine sales to Murica have been cancelled.

The Soyuz-2 launch complex at the Vostochny cosmodrome is fully prepared for launches of launch vehicles using a new type of fuel - naphthyl. The transition of the complex from kerosene to naphthyl began in October 2021, and was carried out by specialists from the branches of TsENKI JSC - the Vostochny Space Center and the Research Institute of Launch Complexes named after V.P. Barmina (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation).

A number of special operations were carried out to change the fuel. All kerosene was drained from the storage facilities and sent to the supplying enterprises, and the storage tanks were purged with nitrogen and air. After reaching the optimal ratio of oxygen and air inside, the tanks were cleaned. The cosmodrome specialists also connected the necessary technological equipment to the refueling system.

In December 2021, autonomous tests were completed on the naphthyl filling systems of the third stage of the launch vehicle, the “package” fueling system (the assembled first and second stages of the launch vehicle), the fuel cooling system and on the automatic control system for technological equipment. After carrying out autonomous tests, in fact, we can assume that the Launch Complex has been converted to naphthyl. However, to complete the full cycle, it is necessary to pass more complex tests. This type of test is carried out directly during the preparation of the launch vehicle for launch, when it is already installed in the launch system and has passed a full cycle of preparation at the SC before the start of refueling.

During the preparation of the ILV for launch, it will be necessary to refuel and drain the fuel. Based on the results of this operation, a final decision is issued on the complete transition of the Launch Complex to a new type of fuel.

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. Rocket and Space Corporation Energia will complete the preliminary design of the advanced Russian Orbital Service Station in 2022. This is stated in the message of Roskosmos, distributed on Tuesday.

"Dmitry Rogozin said that in the manned program, the state corporation focuses on the deployment of the Russian Orbital Service Station, whose draft design of RSC Energia named after S.P. Korolev (part of Roscosmos) should be completed this year," Roscosmos said in a statement following the results meetings of the CEO of the state corporation with representatives of the expert council.

In April 2021, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov said that the state of the ISS leaves much to be desired, so Russia can focus on creating its own orbital station. The Energia Rocket and Space Corporation was tasked with ensuring the readiness of the first module for the new domestic orbital station in 2025, which will be the scientific and energy module, which was previously supposed to be launched to the ISS in 2024.

The Scientific and Technical Council of Roscosmos recommended that work on the creation of a technical design for a new orbital station be included in the Federal Space Program - 2025

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. Tests of the high-precision landing system for the Luna-25 interplanetary automatic station, scheduled for launch in 2022, have been successfully completed. This is stated in the message of Roskosmos, distributed on Tuesday.

"Despite the sanctions, tests of the high-precision landing system for the Luna-25 automatic station have been successfully completed," Roscosmos said in a statement following a meeting between the state corporation's CEO Dmitry Rogozin and representatives of the expert council.

In November 2021, the press service of Roscosmos told TASS that experts had identified a malfunction in the Doppler velocity and range meter (DISD-LR), which should ensure a soft landing of the Luna-25 interplanetary automatic station. In turn, a source in the rocket and space industry told TASS that "the device could not show the correct data during the descent from the tower."

"Luna-25" should become the first domestic apparatus in modern Russia on a natural satellite of the Earth. The purpose of the project is to launch an automatic probe for research in the region of the south pole of the moon. It is planned that the module will be landed near the Boguslavsky crater. The launch is scheduled for May-July next year.

GarryB wrote:

Their investments will end up re-entering over the Pacific Ocean and they won't have a spare USD200B to build another (and their existing station module technologies are inadequate as they no longer operate shuttles to carry out orbital assembly).

A space shuttle is about the most expensive way possible to assemble a space station in space.

Russia did not use space shuttles to assemble Mir.

MOSCOW, April 8 - RIA Novosti. The launch of the first domestic mission to the Moon in 46 years from the Vostochny cosmodrome is scheduled for August 22, Alexander Mitkin, deputy general designer for electrical systems at NPO Lavochkin, said.

Previously, it was planned that the Luna-25 automatic station, created by NPO Lavochkin, would go to the Earth's natural satellite in July. The main objective of the mission will be to develop the basic technologies for a soft landing in the circumpolar region and conduct contact studies of a given region of the south pole of the moon .

The Luna-26 mission for mapping is expected in 2024, Luna-27 for soil exploration - in 2025, Luna-28 for collecting lunar soil and working out the landing scheme for Russian cosmonauts - in 2027-2028.