The Russian space industry operates launch vehicles of several classes and types. To solve some problems, astronautics need super-heavy rockets, but at the moment our country does not have such equipment. Nevertheless, the development of a promising project is already underway. Over the next few years, the industry will have to develop and bring to testing the promising Energia-5V rocket.
The existence of plans to create a super-heavy launch vehicle Energia-5V was announced last autumn. In mid-November 2016, a conference was held in Moscow dedicated to the problems of the development of rocket and space technology. During this event, the General Director of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after V. I. S. P. Queen Vladimir Solntsev. According to the head of the largest organization, there are plans to create a promising super-heavy launch vehicle. At the same time, it is planned to use a very interesting approach to the formation of the appearance of the rocket.
It was proposed to build a new rocket on a modular basis. Key components were to be borrowed from existing or developing rocketry projects. So, the first and second stages should be taken from the project of the promising middle-class rocket "Phoenix". The upper stage with engines using hydrogen fuel was planned to be borrowed from the projected Angara-A5V heavy rocket. As V. Solntsev noted, the Energy-5V project proposes the creation of a kind of designer, from which it will be possible to assemble a carrier of the required configuration with the required characteristics. The goal of this approach is to reduce the time to complete the work and the cost of the project.
By the time the information on the promising project "Energy-5V" was announced, there was already certain information about two other launch vehicles planned for use as a source of components and assemblies. Thus, it is known that the Angara-A5V rocket is a variant of another project of its family, characterized by the use of a third stage with engines powered by a hydrogen-oxygen fuel pair. Such a modernization of the existing project, according to calculations, allows a noticeable increase in the payload.
The second source of aggregates is the Phoenix medium-class launch vehicle. Such a rocket will be able to lift up to 17 tons of cargo into low-earth orbit, including manned spacecraft. Also, the rocket will be able to launch 2.5 tons of cargo into geostationary orbit, for which it will need an upper stage. The development of Phoenix is scheduled to begin in 2018 and be completed by 2025. Last year it became known that in the future, the units of this rocket can be used to create a promising carrier of a heavy or super-heavy class.
Last year, only the most general plans were announced that determine the course of further work in the field of promising launch vehicles. Several months later, some details of the future Energia-5V project became known. As it turned out, the rocket and space industry plans to offer two variants of the rocket at once with different characteristics and capabilities.
Information about new plans for a promising project was published at the end of January by the TASS news agency. The information was obtained from an unnamed source in the space industry. At the same time, it was noted that the RSC Energia press center refused to comment on such news. Nevertheless, in this case, the published information is of great interest.
A source from the TASS agency said that by that time the approximate appearance of two super-heavy launch vehicles had been determined at once. Two versions of the Energia-5V rocket received their own working names, Energia-5V-PTK and Energia-5VR-PTK. Preliminary studies on two projects were planned to be presented to the management of the Energia corporation, as well as to the leading organizations of the rocket and space industry.
According to the information released, missiles of both types will be built according to a three-stage scheme and use liquid engines. It is proposed to equip the first and second stages of two missiles with RD-171MV engines. The first should receive four such products, the second - two. The third stage will have to be equipped with two RD-0150 engines using hydrogen fuel. The two variants of the rocket will be similar in their characteristics, but it is expected to provide for some difference in capabilities.
The Energia-5V-PTK launch vehicle, according to existing calculations, will have a launch mass of 2368 tons. It will be able to launch up to 100 tons of payload into low-earth orbit. It will be possible to send up to 20.5 tons to the circumlunar orbit. The Energia-5VR-PTK project proposes to equip the rocket with an upper stage with hydrogen-fueled engines. In this configuration, the launch vehicle will have a launch mass of 2346 tons. The use of an upper stage will give corresponding advantages in solving certain problems.
When using Energia-5V rockets for the delivery of a manned spacecraft "Federation" or a promising takeoff and landing module for a lunar expedition into orbit, it is possible to use the so-called. interorbital tug. This product can be designed and built on the basis of one of the existing upper stages of the DM family.
Over the next few months, the enterprises of the rocket and space industry continued to work within the framework of a promising project. Among other things, the approximate dates for the creation of new carrier rockets and launch complexes for their operation were determined. On June 8, the TASS agency published new data on the plans for the Energia-5V rocket. As before, information was obtained from an unnamed source in the industry. In addition, similar to previous reports, TASS employees were unable to obtain comment from officials, this time from the state corporation Roscosmos.
According to an unnamed source, a launch complex for Energia-5V missiles will be built at the Vostochny cosmodrome. According to current plans, construction work will be completed in 2027. The first launch of the super-heavy vehicle from the newest launch pad will take place in 2028. Some features of the future complex were also announced. As it turned out, the current plans of the rocket and space industry imply the creation of a universal launch pad.
A TASS source said that the launch pad for Energia-5V will be built according to the same principles as the universal launch-stand 17P31 complex for the Energia launch vehicle. This complex was built three decades ago at site No. 250 of the Baikonur cosmodrome and was subsequently used for two launches of the Energia super-heavy rocket. It was not specified which principles of the starting table for the old Energia should be transferred to the new project.
It is argued that the launch pad for the Energia-5V rocket will be universal and will allow launches of different types of equipment. With its help, it will be possible to send promising medium-class missiles "Soyuz-5" into space, as well as other carriers made on their basis by connecting several blocks. Among other things, such a launch complex can be used together with promising super-heavy missiles of the Angara and Energia-5V families.
Also on June 8, it became known about plans to accelerate the development of a super-heavy rocket. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the leadership of the industry had made a decision to speed up work on a super-heavy launch vehicle. To solve such problems, research work has already begun on the new RD-0150 engine. In the near future, this project will enter the experimental design stage.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the promising engine will be used on the Angara-A5V rocket, and will increase its carrying capacity to 37 tons. In the future, this power plant is planned to be used as part of the third stage of the super-heavy rocket, which is currently being created.
After the publication of news about the planned construction of the launch complex at the Vostochny cosmodrome, the acceleration of work in general and the beginning of the development of a new engine, new messages about the promising project "Energia-5V" did not appear. Thus, at the moment, only the most general information about the project is known, as well as the expected characteristics of the finished equipment. It is quite understandable that the previously announced calculated information about the data and parameters may change noticeably in the future. In addition, the fundamental points of the project may be revised. Finally, for one reason or another, the development of superheavy carriers may be canceled altogether.
It should be noted that, despite the similarity of names and belonging to the same class, the promising Energia-5V rocket is not directly related to the launch vehicle created three decades ago. As follows from previously published information, a new super-heavy rocket project will be created on the basis of modern ideas, solutions, components and assemblies. So, in order to save time and money, the authors of the project are considering the possibility of widespread use of large modules borrowed from existing models of rocketry.
It is known that the first and second stages of the Energia-5V-PTK and Energia-5VR-PTK missiles will be built on the basis of the corresponding units planned for development within the framework of the Phoenix project. The third stage, in turn, will be borrowed from the heavy "Angara-A5B", which is also far from being tested. The rocket will be able to use existing and prospective upper stages. Such an approach will indeed make it possible to speed up and reduce the cost of project development, although it will not provide an opportunity to implement all plans in the near future. The fact is that the first flight of the Angara-A5V rocket is scheduled for 2023, and the Phoenix will take off in about two years. To design and prepare for testing "Energia-5V" will need to wait for the completion of related projects used as a source of nodes.
The situation is similar with engines. According to reports from the beginning of the year, the first and second stages of the super-heavy carrier will be equipped with RD-171MV engines. As far as is known, such a modification of the existing RD-171 is not yet ready and will appear only in the foreseeable future. The RD-0150 engine also does not exist yet, and its development is in the very early stages. Thus, the lack of the necessary engines will also prevent the completion of the Energia-5V project in the near future.
The announced characteristics of a promising super-heavy launch vehicle are of great interest. A few months ago it became known that rockets can send up to 100 tons of cargo to low-earth orbit, and a little more than 20 tons will be delivered to the Moon. Using upper stages of one model or another, it will be possible to obtain corresponding results. At the moment, serial launch vehicles with similar characteristics are not used in the world. Several projects are being developed, but so far they have not been able to reach test launches.
The appearance of a super-heavy launch vehicle can have the most serious impact on the further development of Russian cosmonautics. In the past, attempts were made in our country to master this direction, but they, for one reason or another, did not give real results. Thus, the first domestic super-heavy rocket N-1, capable of placing 75 tons of cargo into low-earth orbit, was tested four times, and all launches ended in an accident. In the mid-seventies, the program was closed in favor of a new project.
The next attempt to master the super-heavy direction was the Energia project. The maximum payload of such a rocket was 100 tons. It could put into orbit both traditional spacecraft and the reusable Buran transport vehicle. In 1987-88, two test launches took place, after which the work had to be stopped. The project turned out to be too expensive to implement at the time. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the closure of the project.
In the future, it was repeatedly proposed to create a new project of a super-heavy launch vehicle. For example, for some time the possibility of developing such a project within the Angara family was considered. Nevertheless, for technical and economic reasons, it was decided to limit ourselves only to heavy equipment. The creation of a super-heavy carrier was postponed indefinitely.
Another discussion of the possibility of creating such a rocket began several years ago. Last year, specific plans were announced, and at the beginning of 2017 it became known about the formation of the technical appearance of two missiles at once with similar characteristics and different capabilities. According to the latest data, these projects will be brought to testing only at the end of the next decade. In 2027, the necessary launch complex will be completed at the Vostochny cosmodrome, and the first launch will take place in 2028. At the same time, there is reason to believe that these terms may shift to the left, since the country's leadership made a fundamental decision to accelerate the work.
To date, the domestic rocket and space industry has managed to start developing a number of promising launch vehicles, which in the future will have to replace existing and operating models. The existing plans imply the creation of missiles of all classes, from light to super-heavy. This will make it possible not only to modernize the launch vehicle fleet by replacing outdated equipment, but also to expand the capabilities of domestic astronautics, as well as to increase its competitive potential. Nevertheless, it will take a lot of time to implement all plans and create all the desired missiles - the first results of the current programs will appear no earlier than the end of this decade.
