Test of Russian RD-0124 engine. Credit: Roscosmos

Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin was in Voronezh over the weekend where he witnessed the test of an upper stage engine destined to fly aboard Soyuz and Angara rockets.

On Saturday, Popovkin visited the Khimavtomatiki Design Bureau and Voronezh Mechanical Plant, where engineers successfully fired the RD-0124 engine on a test stand. The kerosene/LOX engine is slated to fly aboard a Soyuz 2-1b rocket carrying a GLONASS-K spacecraft at the end of this year. It also will be used on Soyuz-ST-B that will begin flying from Kourou this fall.

A modified version of the engine will be used on the new Angara rocket being developed by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre. That rocket is scheduled to make its first test flights in 2013.

According to a Roscosmos report, Popovkin said that the Voronezh KBKhA will have many engine orders by 2020 for both civilian and military launches.

The highlights, translated from Russian:

Space Tourism

• Popovkin views human spaceflight as worthwhile if it produced practical results. “If a person just wants to go to orbit, I believe this is an inefficient activity.”
  
• On increasing annual Soyuz production to five spacecraft in order to fly space tourists: “Space tourism must be carried out on extra money. If the corporation Energia or any other corporation, or tourists themselves, will be able to find them [extra funds] and build a ship, then such tourism has the right to exist. Space tourism at the expense of the budget – it’s not space tourism…..This idea will be developed…We [Roscosmos] are for space tourism, but first create a business plan, and we will help take out loans. But there is no reflection of the state program of this issue should not be.”

The Budget

• Roscosmos has seen a significant budget boost to $2.3 billion, but space spending is actually $3.38 billion when one takes into account the separately funded GLONASS navigational constellation, a program to modernize the military-industrial complex, and several other programs aimed at improving the national technological base and developing new systems.
• Roscosmos could always use a higher budget, but the main programs have sufficient funds.
• The agency will need annual boosts of 4-6 percent from 2013-2020 to keep up with inflation.

Key Programmatic Priorities

• Roscosmos “plans to significantly increase the share of funding for projects aimed at creating a satellite-based communications, navigation, remote sensing, as well as the creation of meteorological aids….Given the geography of our country, satellite technology, should be key, especially in terms of communication, for example, access to the Internet.”
• The Soyuz spacecraft replacement will begin flight tests in2018 and have two variants: a six-person vehicle to transport crews to and from the International Space Station, and a four-person variant designed for individual flights of up to 30 days.
• The new Angara rocket family, which is set to debut in 2013, will replace the older Proton rocket. Popovkin says Angara will enter commercial service not earlier than 2017-2018 period. The rocket will fly from Baikonur and the new Vostochny spaceport.
• The Vostochny spaceport in the Far East, set to open in the middle of the decade, will cost approximately $8.4 billion to construct.

Roscosmos Restructuring

• Popovkin hints strongly at layoffs when he discusses a major restructuring of Roscosmos to make it leaner and more efficient. “It will create several new offices. The process is nearing completion, and the agency will pay particular attention to the management of organizations operating in the structure of the Russian Space Agency, the property set of issues, corporate governance.…This process coincided with the decision of the Russian Government to reduce civil servants by 20% to 2013: 5% will be reduced in 2011-2012, and 10% – in 2013.”

Industry Consolidation

• Russia will continue to consolidate its sprawling and inefficient space sector into a smaller number of joint stock corporations. “The first phase of this optimization Roskosmos already passed by constructing holdings on the vertical lines. The next step – to connect the vertical holding each other. To start the optimization of the horizontal. It now will be done.”
• Current priorities include the creation of the Comet and Iosifyan joint stock companies. The Khrunichev consortium will be expanded and a new company established based on CDB heavy machinery. “In general, at the end of the year there should be 14 integrated companies, covering more than 50% of the industry. Then we will plan further changes.”

During their visit, journalists saw Proton-M and Angara rockets being assembled. They also visited a  new engineering building where employees will be able to simultaneously assemble five heavy launcher Angara vehicles. The Angara is a new modular family of rockets set to make its inaugural flight in 2013.

In addition to building launch vehicles, Khrunichev designs and constructs space systems, remote sensing and communications satellites, and space station modules. The company has nine locations across the Russian Federation that include a space rocket plant, the Salut Design Bureau, a space technology facility, a and a medical equipment factory.

Sources: Roscosmos PAO and Khrunichev PAO

The Angara rocket family. (Credit: Allocer)

Russia’s long-delayed Angara family of rockets will finally take to the skies above the Plesetsk Cosmodrome beginning in 2013, according to Vladimir Nesterov, general director of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.

Speaking to reporters at Baikonur on Saturday, Nesterov also said that the third flight of South Korea’s KSLV-1 rocket, which uses the Angara first stage, will take place during the second half of next year.

Nesterov said the Angara 1.2 rocket, which can lift 3.7 metric tons into low Earth orbit (LEO), would fly during the first half of the year. This launch would be followed by a flight of the heavier Angara 5 rocket, which is designed to launch between 18-28.5 metric tons to LEO depending upon which version is used.

“Both [launches] are feeling good, I am absolutely certain. So far we see no reason not to fulfill the president’s decree,” Nesterov said.

The Angara is a modular series of rockets designed to replace several existing boosters. The largest, Angara 7, will be able to send a payload of 40.5 metric tons to LEO. The first Angara was supposed to fly by the mid-2000s, but the program has suffered numerous delays due to funding and other issues.

Nesterov said that the third flight of South Korea’s KSLV-1 rocket would likely take place in August or September 2012. The rocket is composed of the first stage of the Angara booster and a South Korean upper stage.

The first two flights failed. On the inaugural launch in August 2009, both stages performed as planned. However, half of the satellite’s protective cover stayed attached to the second stage instead of separating, causing the vehicle to fall into the sea.

The failure of the second flight in June 2010 is a mystery. The rocket was lost after 2 minutes and 17 seconds, although officials have had a difficult time determining precisely why, with each side blaming the other.  During the press conference, Nesterov said that an independent commission was still examining the failure and would make its findings public at a future date.

Soyuz rocket

Speaking to media editors-in-chief today, Roscosmos Head Antaoly Perminov laid out plans for a very busy year in space that includes four dozen launches, Russia’s first interplanetary probe in 15 years, a greater role in the International Space Station, and the development of new rockets and infrastructure.

During an appearance at the Club of the Leading Russian Media Editors-in-Chief in Itar-Tass, Perminov discussed the country’s space plans, which include:

• 48 launches, an increase from 31 last year
• October launch for Phobos-Grunt, an ambitious mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos
• assumption of the sole role in transporting crews to and from the International Space Station once the American space shuttle retires
• construction of roads, railways and worker housing for Russia’s new Vostochny spaceport in the Amur Region
• completion of the GLONASS navigational satellite constellation
• debut of the Soyuz launcher in French Guiana
• development work on the Angara and Rus-M launchers
• launch of the Resource-P remote sensing spacecraft, which will have  0.4-0.6 meter resolution
• operation of the Electro-L satellite launched earlier this year
• design work on the Arctica space system.

Russia’s 31 launches last year accounted for 41 percent of the world’s total. “We are called ‘space cabbies’ and we are proud of that,” the Roscosmos chief said. “This is quite an achievement to win in tough competition.”

Perminov also talked about the increased space station role that Roscosmos will play once the Americans fly their final space shuttle mission:

“This is a huge responsibility, and this is also very dangerous,” Perminov holds, since alongside launching of old analogs of the Soyuz and Progress ships new elements are tried out, the new digital control system and other systems are worked out, to be installed on ships of the new generation.

“A well-tested digital system will work in an automatic regime on board a future manned ship,” he said.

The Phobos-Grunt mission, which includes a sample return and a Chinese sub-satellite, marks a return of Russia to interplanetary exploration. The country’s last mission to the Red Planet was launched in 1996. The spacecraft burned up in Earth’s atmosphere due to a booster failure.

Russia is continuing to make progress on rocket development. The Soyuz booster is set to make its debut at the European spaceport at Kourou later this year. The Russians are also working on two new rockets, Rus-M and Angara, that will be used for civilian and military payloads, respectively. Angara is set for its first test launch in 2012; Rus-M will fly in the middle of the decade.

Meanwhile, production plans are being finalized for Angara:

On Jan. 31, Chairman of the Russian Government Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the Governor of Omsk region Leonid Polezhaev. Among others, Polezhaev reported Prime Minister about implementation of space programs in the region.

“Khrunichev Space Center and Salut company are transferring production of the Angara launcher to Polyot of Omsk. Polyot will also manufacture components for Proton upper composite,” the Governor said.

Development of Angara heavy-lift launcher is a high-priority national objective. The launcher is ordered by Roscosmos and Ministry of Defense. KhSC bears responsibility for design and production of the space system. Polyot is a KhSC’s subsidiary.

Note: The above report was compiled from posts on the Roscosmos website.

Angara rocket engine test

A couple of brief updates from Russia:

The long-delayed Angara rocket will be ready for testing next year. “We plan that it will be fully prepared for launch in 2012. Everything is going according to plan,” said Space Troops chief Oleg Ostapenko.

Angara is a modular family of rockets designed to be the mainstay for Russia’s strategic launches, replacing several existing rockets. It will be capable of launching between 2 and 40.5 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit. Development of the rocket has been delayed several years due to financial shortfalls.

Ostapenko also told reporters that Russia is developing a spacecraft similar to the U.S. X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle that flew last year.

“Something has been done along these lines, but as to whether we will use it, only time will tell,” Ostapenko said.

Read the full stories here and here.

RIA Novosti reports that Russia’s delay plagued Angara rocket is facing some additional funding issues, this time involving the $446 million launch complex being built for it at Baikonur:

Kazakhstan’s national space agency, Kazcosmos, has requested more funding for the joint Russian-Kazakh project to build a new launch pad at the Baikonur space center.

In late December 2004, Russia and Kazakhstan signed the deal to build a new launch pad, named Baiterek, to send into space Angara carrier rockets capable of delivering 26 metric tons of payload to low-Earth orbits. The project is being implemented on a parity basis.

“Today a problem emerged in implementing this project – we have trouble with repaying a budgeting loan, the grace period of which expired in November,” the agency’s chief, Talgat Musabayev, told Prime Minister Karim Masimov.

Musabayev requested the premier to convene a special meeting “to address the future funding of the Baiterek [launch] complex.”

Read the full story.

Angara rocket engine test

VIA ROSCOSMOS PAO

NITS RKP, Peresvet, completed firing tests of Universal Rocket Module URM-2 for Angara launcher.

Cold testing of URM-2 with kerosene filling, as well as totally-filled system tests, had been conducted successfully. The firing test, aimed at confirming URM proper operation as a part of Angara’s third stage, took place on Nov. 18 at test bench 102 (TB-102), the largest test bench in Europe.

URM-2 is to be used in the third stage of the rocket. The first and second sessions of the cold firing tests have been completed in June-July.

Angara’s URM-1 bench tests were completed in 2009.

Development of the Angara launcher is the high-priority national objective. Angara‘s customers are Russian Federal Space Agency and the Ministry of Defense. Khrunichev Space Center is the prime contractor in the project.

And in related news….

Russia’s advanced super heavy-lift launcher to use modified propulsion of Energia rocket developed under Energia-Buran project, KBKhA DG Vladimir Rachuk told Interfax-AVN.

He reminded that oxygen-hydrogen engine RD-0120 designed by KBKhA was used in Energia project. Development of the advanced super heavy-lift launcher is to begin in 2018.

Soyuz rocket

Russia’s Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (KBKhA) “have almost completed validation and verification of the RD-0124 engine to be used on Soyuz-2-1b carrier,” according to a story on the Roscosmos website. “Governmental acceptance of the engine is the next step.”

The new RD-0124 upper-stage engine increases the Soyuz rocket’s capacity by 1 metric ton. It will be used on Soyuz commercial launches out of French Guiana that are set to begin next year.

A variant of the engine, the RD-0124А, will be used on the new family of Angara rocket that is being designed by the Khrunichev Space Center. “The validation of this engines is also coming close to a significant stage – the first stage firing tests are to be carried out soon,” the report states.

The Angara, which is set to be a mainstay for Russian military launches, has been repeatedly postponed due to funding issues. The first test launch is now scheduled for 2013.

KBKhA also has two other key engine projects: the hydrogen burning RD-0146 engine, which will be used on an advanced Rus-M rocket that will launched from the new Russian spaceport at Vostochny spaceport; and a nuclear rocket engine that will have multiple uses.

The Rus-M booster, which is being built by TsSKB-Progress, is designed as a replacement for the Soyuz rocket variant that is used to launch crews to the International Space Station. Roskosmos has launched a new program, the Prospective Piloted Transport System, to build a human-rated vehicle for orbital and lunar missions that will replace the Soyuz transport:

The Earth-orbiting version of the ship would have a mass of 12 tonnes and carry a crew of six, along with no less than 500 kg of cargo. It would be able to fly 30-day-long autonomous missions, or a year-long mission, while docked to the ISS in the orbit, with the inclination 51.6 degrees, and to the future Russian space station launched from Vostochny into a 51.8-degree orbit.

The lunar version would weigh 16.5 tonnes, have four seats, and be capable of delivering and bringing back 100 kg of cargo. It would be able to fly 14-day missions to orbit around the Moon, or stay docked to the lunar orbital station, LOS, for up to 200 days.

The unmanned cargo version of the vehicle would be required to carry no less than 2,000 kg to Earth orbit, and return at least 500 kg back to the planet’s surface.

Russia is also looking toward Mars with a new nuclear engine that KBKhA is working on. In prepared remarks at the International Astronautical Conference in Prague, Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov said:

“With respect to advanced projects, we started reviewing designs of heavy-lift and super-heavy-lift launchers, on the available technological grounds, and development of advanced technologies for the prospective rocket carriers.

“However we can’t stack on this stage, as the existing rocket engines are not capable of supporting fast interplanetary missions. Thus, we have initiated experimental and design activities to develop a new propulsion with nuclear energy source. The system can be used for interplanetary flights, missions to remote planets, or as an inter-orbital tug.”

The Korea Times has a story about the stalemate between KARI and Russia’s Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center over a possible third launch of the KSLV-1 (Naro-1) rocket, which has failed in its only two launch attempts.

The dispute centers on what failed during the second launch attempt on June 10: Khrunichev’s first stage booster or the South Korean-built second stage. KARI believes that the first stage failed, so Khrunichev should provide a third launch vehicle at its own cost for a flight next year. But the Russian firm disagrees.

In its first launch in August last year, the rocket achieved its desired speed and height, but failed to deliver its payload satellite into orbit.

The Russians are under contract to provide at least two launches, and a possible third should their technology related to the KSLV-I first-stage be found responsible for the failure of any of the first two attempts. KARI took the blame for the bungled first launch, and tension has been evident in the FRB meetings over the failure of the second launch, as the Koreans attempt to rope in their Russian counterparts for a third try sometime next year.

Observers believe there is a possibility that the Khrunichev Center, which clearly holds the leverages in the talks, may only commit to a third launch should Korea agrees to pay for it.

Buying a new rocket from the Russians will cost about 200 billion won, according to ministry officials, and some experts wonder whether the money will be better spent if the country just skips on the third launch and goes directly for the KSLV-II, which is aimed to be an indigenous rocket. The KSLV-II, which will be capable of carrying a bigger satellite than its predecessor, is slated for its maiden flight around 2020.

A Korean official said an agreement had been reached between the two parties over a third launch, but he would not disclose details citing confidentiality requirements.

Complicating the discussions is the fact that Khrunichev has “clearly approached the Korean rocket project as an experiment on course of developing their next-generation Angara rockets.” The Russians may want to just move on to building and testing Angara, which shares many of the same structural elements with the KSLV-1 first stage. Angara’s second stage is being paid for by the French, which has funded upgrades to the Soyuz variant that will soon begin flying out of Kourou.

Meanwhile, the inaugural launch of the first Angara keeps slipping. Originally planned for next year, it has now been delayed until 2013 due to financial issues.

“Vladimir Nesterov, head of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, said the rocket assembly would be completed in the first quarter of 2011, adding that the first-stage engine was “99% ready” and the second-stage engine had already been tested three times.

He said the only problem that could affect the schedule of tests was delays in the purchase of ground-based equipment that the center was unable to order due to underfunding….

The main purpose of the Angara rocket family is to give Russia independent access to space. The rockets will reduce Russia’s dependence on the Baikonur space center it leases from Kazakhstan by allowing the launch of heavy payloads from more northerly sites such as Plesetsk and a new space center in Russia’s Far East.

Angara is being designed as a family of rockets with a common core that would be capable of lifting 1 to 75 metric tons to orbit. It would replace several existing boosters, some of which are not made in Russia.

The test launch of Russia’s new Angara carrier rocket, which had been scheduled for 2011, have been put back by one year due to lack of financing, space agency Roscosmos said on Saturday.

Engine trials were completed earlier this week. The Angara is intended mainly for launch from the Plesetsk space center to reduce Moscow’s dependence on Kazakhstan’s Baikonur, the main launch facility for the current generation of Russian rockets.

Agency chief Anatoly Perminov said the Defense Ministry has had to reduce financing for the project, being developed by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, resulting in delays to the construction of launch facilities.

Read the full story.

Russia completes engine tests for Angara rocket
RIA Novosti

Russia has successfully completed bench trials of the first stage of the new Angara carrier rocket, Russia’s Khrunichev Space and Research Center said on Friday.

The family of Angara rockets will complement, and eventually replace, the existing line of Rockot and Proton launch vehicles. It will be available in a range of configurations capable of lifting between from 2 to 24.5 metric tons into low-earth orbit, and its creators say it will have a low environment impact.

The Angara is intended mainly for launch from the Plesetsk space center to reduce Moscow’s dependence on Kazakhstan’s Baikonur, the main launch facility for the current generation of Russian rockets.

Read the full story.

Russia could delay maiden launch of Angara rocket
RIA Novosti

The maiden launch of Russia’s new Angara carrier rocket could be postponed for at least one year due to shortage of funds from the Defense Ministry, the top Russian space official said Wednesday.

The Angara rocket, currently under development by the Khrunichev center, is designed to put heavy payloads into orbit. The launch facilities were expected to be finished by 2010, and the first launch had been originally scheduled for 2011.

“There is a serious delay in the construction of launch facilities [for Angara] due to the shortage of financing from the Defense Ministry. We are doing everything we can on our part,” said Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos.

The new line of Angara rockets will complement, and eventually replace, the existing line of Rockot and Proton launch vehicles. It will be available in a range of configurations capable of lifting between two and 24.5 metric tons into low-earth orbit, and its creators say it will have a low environment impact.

Read the full story.

On  1 October another test firing of the Universal Rocket Module (URM)-1 for Russia’s  Angara family of launch vehicles – currently under development – took place at the Rocket & Space Industry Research & Testing Center near Moscow.

The URM-1 test article was fired at a specially built test stand, the largest in Europe, to verify the engine performance at its maximum power level. The test, which lasted 203.4 seconds, was the second in a series of firing tests planned for the URM-1.

The first test was successfully conducted at this site on 30 July 2009. The next step in the development program will involve testing at maximum operating pressure a pneumatic and hydraulic system that supplies fuel to the engine.

The Khrunichev Space Center is the prime contractor for the Angara Space Rocket Complex and is responsible for its design, development and testing. The Angara family consists of small, medium and heavy lift boosters.

The development of the Angara family of boosters is a task of national importance. Angara’s performance characteristics are expected to compete successfully with the world’s best launcher systems.

Angara rocket engine test

Russia to invest $143 mln in engines for new Angara rocket
RIA Novosti

Russia will invest about 4.5 billion rubles ($143 mln) by 2015 in the production of engines for a family of Angara carrier rockets, the Perm Territory’s government said on Monday.

The environmentally-friendly Angara rocket, currently under development by the Khrunichev center, is designed to put heavy payloads into orbit. It is intended mainly for launch from the Plesetsk space center to reduce Moscow’s dependence on Kazakhstan’s Baikonur, the main launch facility for the current generation of Russian rockets.

The new line of rockets will complement, and eventually replace, the existing line of Rockot and Proton launch vehicles. It will be available in a range of configurations capable of lifting between two and 24.5 metric tons into low-earth orbit.

Read the full story.