On May 25 this year, at about six o'clock in the evening Moscow time, the first docking of the International Space Station and SpaceX Dragon, a spacecraft developed by a private company, took place. This event caused a lot of praise and the most daring assumptions about the future of world astronautics. In the opinion of the majority of specialists and amateurs of this field of human activity, the attraction of private finances and efforts to astronautics will give it an excellent impetus. It should be noted that such fabrications have been walking around the world for ten years, if not more. But it was the launch of the Dragon truck into orbit with the subsequent docking that became the event that turned simple guesses into very realistic versions. In light of this change in views, we can expect the successful completion of other commercial projects in the field of astronautics.
SpaceShipOne
The very first private spacecraft project, SpaceShipOne, was built by Scaled Compositer LLS since the late nineties. The development of this apparatus for suborbital flights was going on, including for participation in the Ansari X-Prize competition. To obtain the latter, the new device had to make two suborbital flights in two weeks and return to Earth.
Due to the peculiarities of the proposed flight course, SpaceShipOne received a characteristic appearance. Aerodynamically, it is a tailless aircraft with vertical keels extended backward. Moreover, in contrast to the overwhelming majority of other tailless, the keels have horizontal plumage. This fact at one time caused a lot of excitement for people trying to fit SpaceShipOne into the existing layout classification. A specially designed hybrid rocket engine was placed in the aft fuselage. The small dimensions and requirements for the thrust of the gas turbine engine became the reason for the search for a new non-standard fuel. As a result, the fuel pair polybutadiene - nitrogen oxide was chosen. The polybutadiene block is located in the combustion chamber, and when the engine is started, an oxidizing agent is fed into the chamber.
In addition to the unusual power plant of the ship, the course of its flight is also interesting. Takeoff from a conventional runway of sufficient length is carried out using a specially designed WhiteKnight aircraft. The aircraft of the original design raises the spacecraft to an altitude of 14 kilometers, after which the uncoupling takes place. Further, the SpaceShipOne flying by inertia reaches the required angle of attack and its pilot starts the engine. Within a minute with a small hybrid rocket engine provides a thrust of the order of 7500 kgf. During acceleration, the suborbital vehicle reaches a speed of slightly more than M = 3, which is clearly not enough to enter orbit. Nevertheless, after turning off the engine at an altitude of about 50 kilometers, the speed of the vehicle is sufficient to continue flying along a ballistic trajectory. By inertia, SpaceShipOne rises to its maximum flight altitude - about 100 kilometers - where it is three minutes. After the ship's speed turns out to be insufficient to continue being in space, the descent begins. It is interesting that at the beginning of the descent, the rear part of the wings of the apparatus, together with the keels and stabilizers installed on it, rises upward by a significant angle. This is done in order to increase air resistance and reduce the descent speed. At an altitude of 17 kilometers, the wings return to their original position and SpaceShipOne plans to land at the airfield.
The first test flight of the suborbital vehicle took place on May 20, 2003. Then WhiteKnight lifted the prototype ship to an altitude of over 14 kilometers. More than a year later, two manned flights took place, which brought the creators of the project well-deserved fame and the prize of the X-Prize fund. On September 29, 2004, pilot M. Melville brought the experienced SpaceShipOne to an altitude of 102, 93 kilometers. Just five days later, pilot B. Binney made the second valid ascent into space, reaching 112 kilometers. For two manned suborbital flights over two weeks (actually one), Scaled Compositer LLS received an award of ten million dollars.
Spaceship two
The SpaceShip One project was undoubtedly successful and successful. But only three seats in the cockpit made the commercial prospects of this project very dubious. It was required to significantly revise the design in order to bring the ship's carrying capacity into a more successful form. To this end, almost immediately after receiving the Ansari X-Prize, Scaled Compositer LLS began a new project - SpaceShipTwo (SS2).
The construction of the second version of the "Space Spike" is to some extent similar to the first. However, the new requirements for carrying capacity could not but affect the layout. So, it was necessary to change the size of the fuselage, rearrange it and change the position of the wing. Unlike the high-wing SpaceShipOne, the SS2 is a low-wing aircraft: its wing is attached to the bottom of the fuselage. This was done to improve flight performance in dense layers of the atmosphere and increase thermal resistance during descent. Finally, the shape of the keels and stabilizers has been changed. As for the wing lift system, this method of lowering the descent rate was found to be completely successful and acceptable for use in a new project. A similar thing happened with the type of propulsion system, although the change in the mass and size parameters of the apparatus entailed the development of a new gas engine.
The SpaceShipTwo flight procedure is generally similar to that of the first version of the vehicle. The only difference is in the type of aircraft carrier - WhiteKnight II was developed for the SS2, which has a different fuselage layout and new turbojet engines. According to the chief constructor of the project B. Rutan, SS2 is capable of rising to an altitude of 300 kilometers, although in practice these data have not yet been confirmed.
Testing the various subprograms of the SpaceShipTwo project was far from easy. So, the new design of the device needed, among other things, a new thermal protection. But the most challenging work involved a new, more powerful hybrid engine. On July 26, 2007, a tragedy occurred at the test center at the Mojave airport during engine tests. The tank with 4.5 tons of oxidizer could not withstand the pressure and exploded. Scattered metal splinters killed three people and three more were wounded of varying severity. Fortunately, the wounded received the necessary assistance on time and in a few weeks were able to return to active life.
The first test flight of the first prototype SS2, which received its own name VSS Enterprise, took place on March 22, 2010. As in the case of the first SpaceShip, during this flight the prototype ship was docked to the carrier aircraft all the time. The next few months were spent on unmanned transportations and checking all onboard systems. In mid-July of the same year, SS2 took off for the first time with a crew on board. Two pilots once again checked the operation of the communication, navigation and control systems. Three months later, the first uncoupling of the Enterprise was carried out, followed by a gliding descent. Due to some financial and technical reasons, the first suborbital flight planned for 2011 with crossing the lower boundary of space did not take place. Moreover, test flights had to be temporarily suspended for an indefinite period last fall. Currently, testing is scheduled to resume this summer.
For obvious reasons, it is too early to talk about the commercial prospects of SpaceShipTwo. The tests have not yet been completed and the device has never been in space. But already the management of the developer company claims that five SS2 and two WhiteKnight II will be built in the near future. In addition, back in 2009, Scaled Compositer LLS offered to book seats for tourist flights. They asked for a ticket for 200 thousand US dollars. However, even three years after the start of recording clients, the first of them were still unable to ascend into outer space.
Spacex dragon
More successful than SS2 was SpaceX's Dragon project. However, unlike the programs of Scaled Compositer LLS, it was created with the support of NASA. In addition, it has other purposes. Unlike the purely tourist SpaceShip, the Dragon is a reentry vehicle designed to deliver payloads to space stations.
It was the application features that caused the characteristic appearance and structural division of the Dragon apparatus. It consists of two parts - cylindrical equipment-cargo and cargo in the form of a truncated cone. Inside the ship there is a pressurized volume of 14 cubic meters and 10 more are not protected from air leaks. The spacecraft is put into orbit using the Falcon-9 launch vehicle.
The first test flight of the Dragon took place on December 8, 2010. The launch vehicle took off from the Kennedy Center launch pad and put the vehicle into orbit. Dragon made two orbits around the Earth and went down. The landing capsule was flooded in the Pacific Ocean, off the American coast. A year and a half later - in May 2012 - the first full-fledged Dragon launch was carried out. The spacecraft launched into orbit successfully approached the ISS and was docked to it. It is noteworthy that of the possible six tons of payload, the Dragon delivered only 520 kilograms to the ISS. The project managers attribute this difference in weight to the need for additional verification of systems and an unwillingness to risk a heavy load of great importance. Dragon brought what they call optional items to the ISS.
In the near future, SpaceX intends to complete the receipt of all the documents necessary for the operation of the ship. After that, it will be possible to launch a full-fledged commercial operation. Although, as they say at SpaceX, at first their creation will work exclusively on the delivery of cargo to the ISS. In the more distant future, on the basis of the "Dragon" will be created a manned spacecraft Red Dragon, designed to fly to Mars. But the development of this option is still in its infancy.
CST-100
In addition to small companies, the giants of the aviation industry are also engaged in the creation of commercial spacecraft. Since 2009, Boeing has been working on the CST-100 project. In the winter of 2010, the NASA agency joined the development of the project, although its participation is to help in the field of research and take on a small part of the funding. The goal of the CST-100 project is to create a new spacecraft for launching cargo and people into orbit. In the future, an apparatus capable of launching seven people into space should become, to some extent, the successor of the Shuttles.
For obvious reasons, the technical details of the project are largely unknown yet. Nevertheless, Boeing experts have already published some of the nuances of the future spacecraft. With a total mass of about 10 tons and a hull diameter of up to 4.5 meters, it will be delivered into orbit using an Atlas V launch vehicle. The descent is planned to be carried out according to the same method as used by the Dragon or Russian Soyuz. On the basis of the CST-100, it is planned to create several vehicles for various purposes, designed to launch cargo and people into space.
Currently, various systems and components of the future ship are being tested. The first flight of the CST-100 is scheduled for 2015. In total, in the 15th year, it is planned to carry out three launches. During the first, the spacecraft will be launched into orbit in automatic mode. Then the second unmanned spacecraft will take part in tests of the rescue system, and only in the third flight will there be people on board the CST-100. Commercial use of the new spacecraft will only begin in 2016, provided that there are no major problems in testing.
Tycho brahe
All of the projects described above have one thing in common. They are developed by fairly large organizations. As it turns out, a firm doesn't have to be one to participate in the private space race. So, the design bureau Copenhagen Suborbitals consists of only two people - Christian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen. They are assisted by 17 enthusiasts who are involved in the assembly of all components of the project. The space program "Tycho Brahe" is named after the Danish astronomer of the Renaissance. The goal of the project named after the astronomer is the construction of a rocket and space complex for suborbital flights.
The Tycho Brahe complex consists of a rocket launcher coupled with a HEAT-1X launch vehicle and an MSC (MicroSpaceCraft) manned capsule. The rocket with a hybrid engine has an unusual size for this class of technology. So, the HEAT-1X has a diameter of only 25 inches (64 centimeters). It is not hard to guess that the habitable capsule is also small in size. The MSC capsule is a sealed tube with a glass nose. As conceived by the designers, the capsule should be launched to a height of about 100 kilometers using a rocket. In the final phase of the flight, the rocket, together with the capsule, goes into motion along a ballistic trajectory. The descent is supposed to be carried out with the help of aerodynamic brakes, a parachute and a number of other equipment. In view of the small dimensions of the descent vehicle, serious doubts arise as to the feasibility of a safe descent.
The first launch of a rocket with a mass and size human simulator was scheduled for September 5, 2010. A few hours before the appointed time, it was canceled. During one of the last checks of the systems, it turned out that there were problems with the heating of the oxidizer supply valve. Due to the specifics of the project, heating of this part had to be carried out using an ordinary household hair dryer, even a powerful one. The improvements dragged on until the beginning of June last year. But then there were problems, this time with the ignition system. Fortunately, it was quickly fixed and on June 3rd the HEAT-1X rocket finally lifted the MSC into the air. According to the flight plan, the rocket was supposed to rise to an altitude of about 2, 8 kilometers, and then drop the fairing and the MSC module. The latter had to go down by parachute. The exit to the design height and the shooting of the module with the dummy were successful. But the landing parachute lines got tangled. The device fell into the Baltic Sea.
After the first test run, the Copenhagen Suborbitals staff came to the conclusion that a lot of improvements were needed. Actually, this is exactly what all two dozen enthusiasts are doing now. Apparently Tycho Brahe has a lot of disadvantages. This assumption is supported by the fact that a year after the first not entirely successful flight of the complex, the authors of the project are in no hurry to share information about the date of the next launch. Obviously, a group of enterprising citizens is not yet able to bring their developments to mind. However, Tycho Brahe is currently the only European private space project that has even reached the testing stage.
