The construction of the technical complex for launching the Angara launch vehicles is entering its final stage. The launch of a new generation of missiles is guaranteed to take place before the end of 2014. The Angara launch vehicle with new environmentally friendly engines will eventually be able to replace most of the currently existing types of missiles designed back in the USSR. The first launch of the rocket is scheduled for May 2014. It is assumed that the Angara missile system will replace such Soviet developments as Cyclone 2/3, Proton, and Cosmos-3M. At the heart of the idea of a new Russian missile is a universal missile module (URM), which is capable of flying both independently and as part of heavy and medium-class carriers.
At a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, which took place at the end of May, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the launch of the Angara rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome should take place in May 2014. And already in 2015, the light rocket "Angara" should be launched from the newest Russian cosmodrome "Vostochny", which is being built in the Amur Region near the village of Uglegorsk. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that it is important that these launches will be carried out by power plants that use oxygen and kerosene as fuel, and not heptyl, which does not stand up to criticism from an environmental point of view.
According to Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees the development of the Russian defense industry, the preparation schedules for launches of both light and heavy Angara missiles from the Plesetsk cosmodrome are strictly controlled, so he is confident that the launch dates will be met. After the rocket is delivered to the Plesetsk cosmodrome, testing of the complex and its fine-tuning will begin here in order to prepare the launch of a light rocket on time. According to Rogozin, the first Angara light launch vehicle will be launched into space on the night of May 28, 2014.
Plesetsk cosmodrome
Angara is a modern family of launch vehicles built on a modular principle and equipped with oxygen-kerosene engines. This family will include rockets of 4 classes (from light to heavy): in the payload range from 1.5 tons (Angara 1.1 rocket) to 35 tons (Angara A7 rocket) in low-earth orbit during launches from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The head developer of the Angara rocket family and the manufacturer of launch vehicles is the State Space Research and Production Center named after V. I. Khrunichev. (State Scientific and Practical Center named after M. V. Khrunichev).
The operational and energy characteristics of the Angara launch vehicles are at a level that allows them to compete quite successfully on the international market with the best models of rocket and space technology. The widespread use of unification in this project, together with the use of the most advanced production technologies, will provide Angara with a lower (in comparison with world analogues) cost of launching a payload into space in a fairly wide range of orbits. The "Angara" launch vehicle is manufactured with a very large use of polymer composite materials, as the share of composites in this rocket is 20% higher than in the "Proton-M". At the same time, the properties of the materials used were increased by almost 2 times. The first launch site for Angara missiles in Russia will be the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The unique technical solutions implemented in this missile family allow one launcher to launch all types of Angara missiles.
Different versions of Angara launch vehicles are implemented in practice using a different number of universal rocket modules (URM-1 for the first stage of missiles and URM-2 for the second and third stages). For light-class missiles (Angara 1.1 and Angara 1.2) - one URM, for medium-class launch vehicles - 3 URM (Angara A3), for heavy-class launch vehicles - 5 URM (Angara A5) … The length of the universal rocket module is 25.1 meters, the diameter is 2.9 meters, and the mass with fuel is 149 tons. All URMs are equipped with RD-191 oxygen-kerosene engines. In the role of the upper stages on light rockets, such as Angara 1.2, the Breeze-KM upper stage is used, which has passed flight tests as part of the Rokot conversion carrier, and the Breeze upper stage is planned to be used on the Angara A5 heavy rockets. -M and KBTK.
The total mass of the Angara 1.2 light rocket is about 170 tons. At the same time, as part of heavy complexes ("Angara A7"), the number of URMs will reach 7, and the launch weight will exceed 1100 tons. Such impressive units dock with each other and are assembled like a very large construction set. Currently, missile tests are carried out on special mock-ups. “With the created technological models, it is possible to carry out the entire complex of pneumatic tests: with a rocket and some electrical tests. In the future, all launch vehicles of this family will be prepared at this complex: from light to heavy,”said German Malakhov, who is the head of the laboratory for autonomous and complex tests at the Russian Plesetsk cosmodrome.
Each universal rocket module is equipped with an RD-191 oxygen-kerosene engine. This engine is an environmentally friendly option, unlike other types of engines that are used on heavy launch vehicles and use highly toxic heptyl as fuel. The "Angara" rocket of a light class will be able to put more than 1.5 tons of payloads into low-earth orbit, the index of the heavy "Angara" rocket is 35 tons. This is more than the Proton launch vehicles that are sent into space from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
At the same time, the launch of the Angara missile has been postponed more than once, but now work on this program is under the personal control of Russia's top military leadership. Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yuri Borisov noted that it was decided to take the work on this project under manual control, under the personal control of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. An end-to-end schedule has already been drawn up prior to launch. This schedule is quite seriously monitored, every day the commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces receives reports on the progress of work, once every 2 weeks, Yuri Borisov himself receives reports, and once a month he also reports on the progress of work personally to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
It is possible that in the future the Angara missile will be certified for manned flights. It is for this family of rockets that the launch pad is being prepared at the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Work on it began several decades ago, initially it was intended for Ukrainian-made Zenit launch vehicles. However, in recent years, the launch pad has been modified. Currently, designers and engineers have to check the compatibility of the launch directly with the rocket itself. The site will be used to launch all Angara-type missiles, regardless of the number of modules used. If everything goes according to plans, then next year the launch of all military spacecraft can be transferred from Baikonur to the Plesetsk cosmodrome, the main thing is that the launch vehicle should meet the expectations of its creators and customers.
It was not by chance that the development of the newest space complex "Angara" was declared a task of state importance and was taken under close control by top government officials. The launch of the Angara carrier rockets will allow the Russian Federation to launch vehicles of all types into space from its own territory, which will provide Russia with guaranteed and independent access to space.
