The space industry is one of the most high-tech, and its state largely characterizes the general level of development of industry and technology in the country. The existing space achievements of Russia are mostly based on the achievements of the USSR. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the capabilities of the USSR and the United States in space were approximately comparable. Subsequently, the situation with astronautics in the Russian Federation began to gradually deteriorate.
Apart from the services for the delivery of American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), which arose due to the refusal of the United States from the expensive Space Shuttle program, Russia is inferior to the United States in everything: there are practically no successful large scientific projects comparable to the dispatch of rovers, the deployment of orbital telescopes or by sending spacecraft to distant objects in the solar system. The rapid development of private commercial companies has led to a significant decrease in the share of Roscosmos in the space launch market. The Russian RD-180 engines supplied to the United States will soon replace the American BE-4 from Blue Origin.
With a high probability, in the coming year, the United States will refuse the services of Russia as a "space cab", having completed tests of its own manned spacecraft (three manned spacecraft are being developed simultaneously).
The last point of contact between the United States and Russia is the ISS, which is coming to an end. If any domestic or international project with Russian participation is not implemented, the stay of Russian cosmonauts in orbit will become extremely episodic.
The main established trend, which in the near future should lead to a significant reduction in the cost of launching a payload into orbit, is the creation of reusable rockets. To some extent, this is already happening: the stated goal of SpaceX is to reduce the cost of launching cargo into orbit by ten times, and at the moment it has been possible to bring down the price by about one and a half times.
It should be understood that reusable rocketry in its current form (with the return of the first stage) is at the initial stage of development. Judging by the interest shown by other commercial companies in this direction, the direction can be considered extremely promising. A breakthrough in this direction could be the appearance of a two-stage launch vehicle (LV) BFR with full reusability of both stages and the expected flight reliability at the level of modern airliners.
The Russian space industry also has several projects of reusable launch vehicles of varying degrees of sophistication.
Baikal
One of the most actively promoted projects of reusable rockets is Baikal-Angara. The promising module "Baikal" is a reusable accelerator (MRU) of the first stage of the Angara launch vehicle, developed at the GKNPTs im. Khrunichev.
Depending on the class of the rocket (light, medium, heavy) one, two or four reusable Baikal boosters should be used. In its light version, the Baikal accelerator is, in fact, the first stage, which brings the Angara rocket concept in this version closer to the Falcon-9 concept from SpaceX.
A feature of the reusable accelerator "Baikal" is the return carried out by aircraft. After undocking, "Baikal" unfolds a rotary wing in the upper part of the hull and lands on the airfield, while maneuvering at a distance of about 400 km can be carried out.
The design has been criticized for being more complex and potentially less efficient compared to vertical planting used in overseas projects. According to Roskosmos, a horizontal landing pattern is necessary to ensure the possibility of returning to the launch site, but the same possibility has been declared for the BFR launch vehicle. And the first stages of the Falcon-9 LV are no more than 600 km away from the launch site, that is, the landing sites for them can be easily equipped at a relatively short distance from the cosmodrome.
Another disadvantage of the concept of the Baikal MRU + Angara launch vehicle can be considered that in the medium and heavy version only accelerators return, the first stage (central unit) of the launch vehicle is lost. And the landing of four MRUs at the same time when launching a heavy version of the launch vehicle can cause difficulties.
Against the background of the elaboration of the Baikal-Angara project, the statements of the general designer of the Angara missiles, Alexander Medvedev, look strange. In his opinion, the rocket can land with the help of jet engines on retractable supports, like the Falcon-9 launch vehicle. Retrofitting the first stages of the Angara-A5V and Angara-A3V launch vehicles with landing supports, a landing control system, additional thermal protection systems and additional fuel will increase their weight by about 19 percent. After the revision, Angara-A5V will be able to withdraw 26-27 tons from the Vostochny cosmodrome, and not 37 tons, as in a one-time version. If this project is implemented, the cost of lifting the cargo using the "Angara" should be reduced by 22-37%, while the maximum allowable number of launches of the first stages of the launch vehicle is not indicated.
Taking into account the statements of Roscosmos representatives about the possibility of creating a Soyuz-7 launch vehicle in cooperation with S7 Space in a reusable version, it can be concluded that the project of a reusable launch vehicle has not yet been finally decided in Russia. Nevertheless, the Baikal MRU project is gradually being worked out. The experimental machine-building plant named after V. M. Myasishchev is engaged in its development. A test horizontal flight of the demonstrator is planned for 2020, then a speed of about 6.5 m should be achieved. In the future, the MRU will be launched from a balloon, from an altitude of 48 km.
Soyuz-7
In September 2018, Igor Radugin, First Deputy General Designer - Chief Designer of Launch Vehicles of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation, who led the development of the new Russian Soyuz-5 launch vehicle and the Yenisei super-heavy rocket, left his post and went to work. to the private company S7 Space. According to him, S7 Space plans to create a Soyuz-7 rocket based on the Soyuz-5 single-use rocket being developed by Roscosmos, which, in turn, is the ideological successor to the successful Soviet Zenit rocket.
As in the Falcon-9 rocket, the Soyuz-7 launch vehicle is planned to return the first stage using rocket dynamic maneuver and vertical landing using rocket engines. It is planned to develop a Soyuz-7SL version for the Sea Launch platform. It is planned to use the proven RD-171 engine (most likely its modification RD-171MV) as the Soyuz-7 LV engine, which can be reused up to twenty times (10 flights and 10 burns). S7 Space plans to implement its development within 5-6 years. At the moment, the Soyuz-7 launch vehicle can be considered the most realistic project of a reusable launch vehicle in Russia.
Teia
The company "Lin Industrial" is designing an ultra-small suborbital rocket "Teia", designed to take off to the conditional space boundary of 100 km and then return.
Despite the modest characteristics of the project, it can provide the technologies necessary to create in the future a launch vehicle with higher characteristics, especially since Lin Industrial is simultaneously working on the project of a disposable ultra-small launch vehicle Taimyr.
Crown
One of the most interesting and innovative projects can be considered the reusable single-stage vertical takeoff and landing rocket "Korona", which was developed by the State Missile Center (GRTs) named after V. I. Makeev between 1992 and 2012. As the project developed, many variants of the Korona launch vehicle were considered until the most optimal final version was formed.
The final version of the Korona launch vehicle is designed to launch a payload weighing 6-12 tons into a low-earth orbit with an altitude of about 200-500 km. The launch mass of the launch vehicle is assumed to be in the region of 280-290 tons. The engine was supposed to use a wedge-air liquid-propellant rocket engine (LRE) on a hydrogen + oxygen fuel pair. It is proposed to use the improved thermal protection of the orbiting spacecraft "Buran" as thermal protection.
The axisymmetric conical shape of the hull has good aerodynamics when moving at high speeds, which allows the Korona launch vehicle to land at the launch point. This, in turn, makes it possible to launch the Korona LV from both land-based and offshore platforms. When descending in the upper layers of the atmosphere, the launch vehicle carries out aerodynamic braking and maneuvering, and at the final stage, when approaching the landing site, it turns aft downward and lands using a rocket engine on built-in shock absorbers. Presumably, the Korona launch vehicle can be used up to 100 times, with the replacement of individual structural elements every 25 flights.
According to the developer, it will take about 7 years and $ 2 billion to enter the trial operation stage, not so much for the possibility of obtaining such a revolutionary complex.
At the moment, the GRTs them. Makeev can be considered one of the most competent enterprises in the field of rocketry, which retained its potential as much as possible after the collapse of the USSR. It was they who created one of the most effective intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), Sineva, and they were entrusted with the creation of the Sarmat ICBM, which will replace the famous Satan. Completion of the creation of the Sarmat ICBM in 2020-2021 opens up an opportunity to attract the SRC named after Makeev for space projects.
Speaking about the shortcomings of the Korona project, it can be assumed that these will primarily be the need to create an infrastructure for the delivery and storage of liquid hydrogen, as well as all the problems and risks associated with its use. It is possible that the best solution would be to abandon the single-stage scheme of the Korona launch vehicle and implement a two-stage fully reusable methane-fueled complex. For example, on the basis of the developed oxygen-methane engine RD-169 or its modifications. In this case, the first stage could be used separately to bring a specific payload to an altitude of about 100 km.
On the other hand, liquid hydrogen, as a rocket fuel, most likely cannot be avoided. In many projects, depending on whether the first stage is on methane or on kerosene, hydrogen-oxygen engines are used in the second stage. In this context, it is appropriate to recall three-component engines, which, for example, is the two-mode three-component engine RD0750 developed by the Chemical Automation Design Bureau (KBKhA). In the first mode, the RD0750 engine runs on oxygen and kerosene with the addition of 6% hydrogen, in the second - on oxygen and hydrogen. Such an engine can also be implemented for the hydrogen + methane + oxygen combination, and it is possible that it will turn out to be even simpler than in the version with kerosene.
Baikal-Angara, Soyuz-7 or Korona?
Which of these projects could be Russia's first reusable rocket? The Baikal-Angara project, despite its popularity, can be considered the least interesting. Firstly, the very long-term fuss with the "Angara" launch vehicles is already leaving its mark, and secondly, the concept of returning the MRU by air also raises many questions. If we talk about the easy option, when the MRU is actually the first stage, then wherever it went, but if we talk about medium and heavy options with two / four MRU and the loss of the first and second stages, then the idea looks very strange. The talks about the vertical landing of the "Angara" launch vehicle are likely to remain so, or will be realized when the rest of the world is already flying on antigravity or antimatter.
The creation of a reusable version of the Soyuz-7 launch vehicle by a private company S7 Space in cooperation with Roskosmos seems more optimistic, especially since the projected super-heavy launch vehicle Yenisei will be built on the same engines, which will potentially allow transferring the “reusable” technologies to it. … Nevertheless, remembering the epic with "Yo-mobile" and this project can go to the dustbin of history. Another issue is the initial use of oxygen-kerosene engines in the projects of the Soyuz-5, Soyuz-7 and Yenisei launch vehicles. The advantages and prospects of methane as a rocket fuel are obvious, and it is necessary to concentrate efforts on the transition to this technology - the creation of a throttled reusable methane rocket engine, instead of creating the next "most powerful in the world" oxygen-kerosene engine, which will cease to be relevant in 5-10 years …
Project "Crown" in this situation can be viewed as a "dark horse". As mentioned above, the SRC them. Makeeva has high competencies, and with appropriate funding, it could well have created a reusable single-stage or two-stage launch vehicle in the period from 2021 to 2030, after the completion of work on the Sarmat ICBM. Of all the possible options, the Korona project can potentially become the most innovative, capable of creating a groundwork for the next generations of launch vehicles.
The appearance of the reusable Falcon-9 launch vehicle showed that a new battle for space had begun, and we were rapidly falling behind in this battle. There is no doubt that, having received unilateral advantages in space, the United States, and possibly that China will follow it, will begin its rapid militarization. The low cost of launching payloads into orbit, provided by reusable launch vehicles, will make space an attractive investment for the commercial sector, further fueling the space race.
In connection with the above, I would like to hope that the leadership of our country realizes the importance of developing space technology in the context of, if not civil, then at least military applications, and invests the necessary funds in the development of promising space technologies, and not in the construction of another stadium or amusement park, ensuring appropriate control over their intended use.
