Space Program, Satellites, ISS, Mars, YGagarin etc

[TsarSamuil]

‘Tsar engines’: Russia begins production of the world’s most-powerful rocket boosters.

RT.com
1 Sep, 2019 10:25

Russia has launched serial production of the world’s most-powerful multi-combustion chambered rocket engine, the RD-171MV. It’s intended to provide thrust to the planned super heavy-lift rocket Soyuz-5, set to be launched in 2022.

The producer of the engine, NPO Energomash (part of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency) has found a supplier of the rolled mould steel and composites necessary for production, according to data on the federal procurement website. The company will spend around 19.5 billion rubles (approximately US$ 292 million) to purchase the materials.

In February, Roscosmos’ Director-General Dmitry Rogozin revealed that Energomash had created the first engine of the new model. Earlier the official had said the RD-171MV “is the most powerful engine in the world,” and that’s why it’s sometimes called “the Tsar-engine.”

The 10-ton RD-171MV, an improved variant of the RD-171M, was presented during the MAKS-2019 biennial airshow, currently taking place at the Zhukovskiy International Airport near Moscow.

The engine is designed to operate at the first stage of the future Soyuz-5 rocket, also known as Irtysh. In August, CEO of Russia’s Energomash Igor Arbuzov said that the company will test fire the RD-171MV until the end of the year, before instaling it on the rocket. The test of the Soyuz-5 rocket is scheduled for 2021, before it makes its maiden flight in 2022.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia plans to build a REPLACEMENT for the International Space Station, won’t allow Moon privatization – Space Agency Chief.

RT.com
25 May, 2020 13:29

Russia is planning to create its own orbital space station and winged, crewed spacecraft, according to Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos.

Speaking to Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, Rogozin explained how the International Space Station (ISS) is due to operate for another seven-to-ten years, and, as a world leader in the space industry, Russia should be at the forefront of whatever comes next.

“As a country that has always been a leader in the creation of orbital stations, Russia should immediately begin work on creating a new one.”

According to the director, it’s not yet clear whether the station will be visited or inhabited, national or international, but “the technical training should begin now.” Rogozin also announced that Roscosmos is “considering the possibility of creating a winged manned spacecraft for flights to orbital stations,” which would help build the brand-new space station.

The Roscosmos chief noted how a new Russian shuttle would be the spiritual successor to the ‘Buran,’ a soviet spacecraft which completed only one mission, in 1988. The Buran program was originally started by the USSR in response to the US’ Space Shuttle program, and was similar in appearance to NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiter.

Rogozin’s latest update is in addition to his statement in late 2019, that Roscosmos intends to create a universal module for landing on the moon. In the same Monday interview with Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, Rogozin also explained that Moscow “will not allow the privatization of the Moon by anyone,” and will not participate in the lunar race “similar to electoral campaigning."

Rogozin’s comments were in response to a recent executive order signed by US President Donald Trump, which stated that Americans should have the right to engage in “commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space.”

[TsarSamuil]

Russia says International Space Station is falling apart & may have to be abandoned early, plans to go it alone on replacement.

RT.com
27 Nov, 2020 10:24

Russia may invoke the spirit of ‘Mir’ by launching its own orbital station after 2024, as a replacement for the ISS. The current setup had been expected to operate until 2030, but there are signs that it may not be possible.

The proposed new Russian replacement is set to consist of between three and seven modules, with a crew of up to four people.

Moscow’s plans were revealed by Vladimir Solovyov, the first deputy designer general for RSC Energia, the company which operates the Russian segment of the ISS. In his opinion, several elements on the international station are already failing, and it will just get worse from 2025.

“Until 2025, Russia has obligations to participate in the ISS program,” Solovyov explained to the Russian Academy of Sciences. “There are already a number of elements that have been seriously damaged and are out of service. Many of them are not replaceable. After 2025, we predict an avalanche-like failure of numerous elements onboard the ISS.”

The ISS regularly has problems. Last month, the Russian Zvezda module suffered a crack. At the time, former cosmonaut Ivan Vagner explained that it may have been caused by wear and tear.

“Twenty years is actually an absolute record for all space stations,” he explained.

As things stand, Russia has obligations to participate in the ISS program until 2025, and afterwards, the costs may be too prohibitive.

Writing on Twitter, the head of space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said that it was too early to decommission the international project but that some modules might have to be replaced.

“I think it’s too early to write off the station,” Rogozin wrote. “I see the great potential of the ISS for the development of space tourism and the participation of private space companies.”

Later, in a press release, Roscosmos clarified that Solovyov’s comments were of “an informational nature” and did not contain any “proposals for termination of participation in the ISS.”

The Russian-built proposed replacement for the ISS is currently in development and is planned for deployment after 2024. The Russian Orbital Station will be able to run autonomously, and will be operated by a crew of two to four people. In May, Rogozin explained that an ISS replacement was in the works, but it was not yet clear whether it would be visited or inhabited, national or international.

[TsarSamuil]

WATCH: Russia's Angara A5 'eco-space rocket' successfully fires payload into orbit for first time in 6 years.

RT.com
14 Dec, 2020 13:08

The Russian Space Forces have conducted a successful second test launch of the Angara A5 heavy-lift space launch vehicle, six years after the first test flight in 2014.

Launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Mirny, about 800km north of Moscow, the rocket was fired into the sky at 8.50am Moscow time.

The rocket flew for a little over 12 minutes before a mock spacecraft payload separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle and entered into orbit. Initially, the rocket launch was planned for late November, but was postponed to December due to technical reasons.

In celebration, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's Space Agency Roscosmos, posted on Twitter: "It flies, damn it!"

Touted as an eco-rocket due to its usage of kerosene and oxygen as fuel, the Angara rocket family is the first Russian space booster designed from scratch since the fall of the Soviet Union. Development originally began in the 1990s, and the Angara A5 variant was first tested almost twenty years later, in 2014.

The company responsible for the rocket, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, is well known for its unprofitability, having reported a debt of 84 billion rubles ($6 billion) in March 2019. Later that year, in June, the financial report of the center revealed the production cost of a rocket as seven billion rubles ($95 million).

Roscosmos' innovations have been praised worldwide, including by South African space entrepreneur Elon Musk who promoted the idea of a reusable Angara rocket.

In 2018, Rogozin revealed that Russia plans to use the Angara rocket for regular missions to the Moon.




@elonmusk - Russia has excellent rocket engineering & best engine currently flying. Reusable version of their new Angara rocket would be great.