News Roscosmos News

[orb]

Parabolic Arc: Soyuz Light Rocket Undergoes Bench Test as Plesetsk Prepares for Angara

 

[N_Molson]

The (in)famous NK-33 is back ! Can't wait to see that "simplified Soyuz" and Angara rockets in action. :thumbup:

*thanks the above post since the "Thanks" button has apparently taken well-deserved vacations :lol:*

 

[RGClark]

The (in)famous NK-33 is back ! Can't wait to see that "simplified Soyuz" and Angara rockets in action. :thumbup:
*thanks the above post since the "Thanks" button has apparently taken well-deserved vacations :lol:*

Remember Orbital Science's Antares, formerly Taurus II, will use an americanized version of the NK-33:

Antares AJ26 Engine Completes Hot Fire Test.
Posted by Doug Messier.
on May 4, 2012, at 11:32 am in News.
http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/05/04/antares-aj26-engine-completes-hot-fire-test/

The NK-33 is legendary among the proponents of SSTO's because it has both a high Isp and high thrust/weight ratio at the same time.


Bob Clark

 

[N_Molson]

Nobody spoke about any SSTO there.

 

[orb]

RIA Novosti: Russian Piloted Spaceship Delayed Two More Years:

Russia's projected manned spacecraft capable of flights to the moon will not fly until 2018, the head of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin, said on Wednesday, at least two years later than its previous projected flight date of 2015-16.

"We are thinking of higher [compared to the International Space Station] orbits, and flights to the moon, and developing the technology to fly to Mars," he said. "So we are developing a future system, first of all of course the pressurized, launchable module," he said.

Popovkin said a new six-seat ship could be adapted for a variety of missions - "maybe just long automated missions, or moon missions, or to a space station between Earth and the moon, or beyind the moon," he said. It would, however, "not immediately be a reusable system," he noted.

First, the developers will have to work out the ship's layout, then test whether the module is safe for "reentry to Earth...at twice space speeds, which is a completely different stress," he said.

Developing a reusable craft depends "primarily on thermal-protective coatings, and we have different approaches to solving that issue," he said.

If a heavy rocket launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Region, due to be complete by 2015, is not ready in time, initial flight trials could be completed with a pilotless version on a Zenit rocket from the existing Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, he said.

The new piloted spacecraft will replace the aging Soyuz craft on trips to the International Space Station as well as the moon.

Russia's RKK Energia space corporation won a tender in 2009 for development of the future piloted spacecraft, capable of being built in several variants, and capable of flying Earth and near-moon orbits, as well as picking up discarded satellites and large fragments of space junk.

The new ship will be capable of landing with precision in an area just one-tenth the size of the current Soyuz, which uses a parachute system to land.

{...}

 

[orb]

SPACE.com: Russia Converts Unmanned Rocket to Carry New Crewed Spaceship:

Russia's next new manned spacecraft will launch atop a different rocket than planned, one originally designed for only robotic spacecraft. The country's new six-cosmonaut spacecraft is due to lift off on its first test flight in 2018, using a launcher named Angara A5 developed for unmanned missions.

The new six-cosmonaut spacecraft, which is called the Advanced Crew Vehicle (ACV), was to have been launched by another new rocket, Rus-M. The Rus-M was to be an evolution of the Samara Space Center's Soyuz FG rocket that launches the Soyuz manned spacecraft. But Rus-M was canceled last year, while ACV was continued despite no launcher being identified for it.

As well as carrying six cosmonauts, the ACV will carry 1,100 pounds (500 kg) of cargo and could travel to the moon. Like the Soyuz capsule, which Russia currently uses to launch humans to orbit, the ACV will use rockets to land.

{...}

 

[boogabooga]

Cargo spacecraft fails to dock to Space Station

http://news.yahoo.com/cargo-spacecraft-fails-dock-space-station-080224427.html

 

[orb]

RIA Novosti: Roscosmos Announces Tender for Moon Rocket Design:

The Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced a ten-million ruble ($300,000) tender on Thursday to develop a blueprint of a heavy rocket-carrier that would be capable of carrying manned spacecraft to the moon, according to the official website that tracks state purchases.

According to the tender, the proposals, to be submitted before August 28, must lay out the details of the rocket-carrier itself as well as the ground systems. The project must be completed by May 31, 2013.

{...}

 

[N_Molson]

Russian SLS ?

 

[C3PO]

Russian SLS ?

No. This one has a specific mission of getting people to the Moon.

 

[N_Molson]

Wow, that's the argument of the year. Let's not pollute this thread further, though.

 

[orb]

RIA Novosti: Russia to Suspend Rocket Launches – Space Source:

Russian Space Agency Roscosmos will suspend the launches of the Proton-M rocket carriers with Briz-M boosters following the incident on late Monday when the booster had failed to bring two satellites into a calculated transition orbit, a source in space industry said on Tuesday.

“All further Proton launches will be postponed until the emergency commission, which is likely to be established soon, determines the cause of the failure,” the source said.

{...}

 

[N_Molson]

Reminds me last August...

 

[MattBaker]

Happens after every rocket failure, they find a cause, fix it, launches continue, new failure after a few months, repeat

Am I right?

 

[N_Molson]

As said SiberianTiger on the other thread, it seems to be a problem of quality on the production line more than anything else... I guess they have to somehow reform the production chain... :shrug:

 

[orb]

NASASpaceflight: Russia ready to evolve their veteran launcher via Soyuz 2.1v

 

[SiberianTiger]

NASASpaceflight: Russia ready to evolve their veteran launcher via Soyuz 2.1v

The article says

The engine details for the Volga Upper Stage have not been disclosed at this time.

Since this Volga upper stage looks so similar to the propulsive unit of Yantar series photo reconnaissance sats:

it's possible to speculate that the engine should be a close derivative of 11D430 by Isayev Design Bureau.

It's a bundle of 11D30 main engine and several attitude control engines.
Some specs are found here:

Spec|Value
Principle|Pressure-fed
Nozzle|Gimballed 2-axes
Oxidizer amount|195-585 kg
Fuel amount|105-315 kg
Pressure agent|Helium, 3.65 kg, kept at 3.5-5 MPa
Total impulse of thrust for all engines|2,060 kN*s
Thrust of main 11D30 unit|2.7-3.3 kN
Mean Isp|3.015 m*s/kg
Chamber pressure|0.9 MPa
Restarts number|up to 50

 

[SiberianTiger]

http://www.interfax.ru/news.asp?id=260627

Managing Director of Khrunichev Space Centre Vladimir Nesterov has submitted his application for retirement.

 

[SiberianTiger]

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/busin...cy-might-become-state-corporation/466722.html

Space Agency Might Become State Corporation
16 August 2012
The Moscow Times

The Federal Space Agency might be transformed into a state corporation, Vladimir Popovkin, head of the agency, said Thursday.

"Under one possible scenario, we'll consider setting up a state corporation called Roskosmos similarly to Rosatom," he said. "We're preparing such proposals. Our country's prime minister and president have the final say."

Meanwhile, the head of one of the country's leading space firms has resigned from his post following a series of mishaps involving engines produced by his firm.

Vladimir Nesterov, 63, formerly head of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, submitted his resignation letter in connection with the failed launch of two satellites earlier this month, Interfax reported Wednesday, citing a government source.

The resignation of Nesterov, who headed the space company that produces space equipment including Proton rocket boosters, comes shortly after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that those responsible for the failures would be punished.

Medvedev, who made the comments at a government meeting on the space industry on Tuesday, said that 10 botched satellite launches had taken place over the past year and a half.

"Nothing of this kind happens anywhere in the world," Medvedev said.

The Khrunichev center was responsible for designing the Briz upper-stage engines that failed to lift two telecommunications satellites into orbit Aug. 6.

The Russian government is planning to invest 650 billion rubles ($20.3 million) in the country's space industry by 2015. Space flight was identified as a key economic priority during Medvedev's presidency.

So called State Corporations have appeared after recent amendments to Russian laws and are distinct from public LLCs and State-owned enterprises, mainly, by the following criteria:

• They own the property they are managing.
• They are not obliged to disclose any information about their business except in annual closed report to the Government.
• They can't be bankrupted.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

NASASpaceflight: Russia ready to evolve their veteran launcher via Soyuz 2.1v

The NK-15/33 curse continues........ wned: :crystalball2:

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz1_lv.html

The second KhSI test (KhSI-2) did take place at NITs RKP during June 20-22, 2012, and reportedly rehearsed all processing and fueling procedures with the rocket all the way up to a liftoff command. The trial involved loading of 33.8 tons of kerosene fuel and 85.2 tons of liquid oxygen oxidizer onboard the first stage of the Soyuz-1 vehicle. The second cold test cleared the way to the test firing of the rocket's propulsion system, which at the time was preliminary scheduled for August. This major milestone was later set for Thursday, August 16, 2012, around 20:00 Moscow Summer Time. Although, official Russian sources made no statements on the matter, sources in the industry said that the test had failed at the beginning of the firing and resulted in the damage to the hardware, but no injuries. On August 17, the Interfax new agency quoting unnamed sources, reported that both the engine and the test facility was damaged in the botched test.

Also see http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9953&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=2415

Now please Orbital, don't get your Antares(s?) got burned up! :shifty: