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Do you think I want to tell you once again about the "city killers", these secretive predators of the deep sea, that with their salvo can erase a surface comparable to the area of more than 300 megacities in the world? No. More precisely, not really "no"! "Let's beat swords into plowshares"[3]: we will talk about the almost peaceful carrier rockets "Swell", "Volna", "Calm", "Priboy" and "Rickshaw". To be precise, at birth they were real combatants and could wipe almost any country in the world from the face of the planet.
Marine rocket and space systems
The air "smelled" … no, not a thunderstorm, but pulled in manure (I would say - shit): "glasnost" and "perestroika", "cooperation" and "new political thinking", "pluralism" and "disarmament".
As the economic situation in the country deteriorated, the Soviet leadership considered the reduction of armaments and military spending as a way to solve financial problems, therefore, it did not require guarantees and adequate steps from its partners, while losing its positions in the international arena. [2]
It will focus on how the State Missile Center of the Design Bureau im. V. P. Makeeva (Miass) resolved the issue of "conversion" in the era of "perestroika" and after the end of it.
In 1985, the company actively continued the development of military missile technology for the needs of the USSR Navy: it successfully modernized the D9RM and D19 missile systems, developed and tested new combat equipment, and carried out work on the creation and field tests of the new strategic complex R-39UTTKh / 3M91 Bark - SS -NX-28.
You can get acquainted with the military products of the GRC and its performance characteristics by following the links:
→ Combat missile systems.
→ Main characteristics.
→ Scuba start. The result of the activity of the Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau / Video review /.
During these times, the leadership decided that KBM needed to find and conquer its niche in the rocket and space theme. One of the directions of this work was the proposal to use submarine ballistic missiles (SLBMs) to launch payloads into space. First of all, they drew attention to the SLBMs to be dismantled after the expiration of their service lives and in accordance with the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
To produce pots and pans or to do what we are good at?
The work was carried out in the following directions:
A pioneer in this area was the converted RSM-25 missile (URAV VMF - 4K10, NATO - SS-N-6 Mod 1, Serb): the "Swell" launch vehicle, which was used to conduct unique experiments under conditions of short-term zero gravity, provided on a passive section of the trajectory (weightlessness time 15 minutes, microgravity level 10-3g).
The unit consisted of 15 exothermic furnaces, information-measuring and command equipment, a soft landing parachute system. Various starting materials were placed in exothermic furnaces, in particular, silicon-germanium, aluminum-lead, Al-Cu, high-temperature superconductor, and others, of which, during the experiment under zero gravity at temperatures in furnaces from 600 ° C to 1500 ° C, should be materials with new properties were obtained.
On December 18, 1991, for the first time in domestic practice, a ballistic launch vehicle with the Sprint technological module was launched from a nuclear submarine of the Navaga type (project 667A Navaga, according to the classification of the US Defense Ministry and NATO - Yankee). The launch was successful, and the scientific customer, NPO Kompomash, received unique samples of new materials. So the first step was taken in the rocket and space subject of KBM.
But not everything went so simple: the State Emergency Committee happened, then the USSR itself ceased to exist, the government and its general line changed, Chubais and Gaidar, Yeltsin and his generals, and other new figures
political elite. Racket and the formation of new business "elites":
The reduction in the volume of defense issues has put before the staff of the SRC “KB im. Academician V. P. Makeev”the task of intensified search for new“civil”science-intensive areas that would allow retaining highly qualified personnel, material and technological base, in fact, to give an opportunity to“survive”.
Rapid adaptability to new trajectories, energy and mass perfection of SLBMs, combined with high reliability and safety indicators, make it possible to use them as a means of delivering payloads for various purposes to near space during training and practical firing and launches to confirm and extend the service life.
In the interests of carrying out new experiments in zero gravity, a ballistic biotechnological unit "Ether" with scientific equipment "Meduza" was created, designed for high-speed cleaning during the flight of special medical preparations in an artificially created electrostatic field. On December 9, 1992, off the coast of Kamchatka, a nuclear-powered submarine of the Pacific Fleet successfully launched the Zyb carrier rocket equipped with the Meduza equipment, and in 1993 another similar launch was carried out. In the course of these experiments, the possibility of obtaining high-quality drugs, including the antitumor interferon "Alpha-2", was demonstrated under conditions of short-term weightlessness.
In 1991-1993 Project 667BDR submarine carried out three launches of the Zyb carrier rockets with the Sprint and Efir scientific and technological blocks, developed jointly with the NPO Kompozit and the Center for Space Biotechnology.
The Sprint block was designed to work out the processes of obtaining semiconductor materials with an improved crystal structure, superconducting alloys and other materials in zero gravity conditions. The Ether block with Meduza biotechnological equipment was used to study the technology of purification of biological materials and to obtain highly pure biological and medical preparations by electrophoresis.
Unique samples of silicon monocrystals and some alloys (Sprint) were obtained, and in the Meduza experiments, based on the results of studies of the antiviral and antitumor interferon Alpha-2, it was possible to confirm the possibility of space purification of biological preparations under conditions of short-term weightlessness. In practice, it has been proven that Russia has developed an effective technology for conducting experiments under conditions of short-term zero gravity using sea ballistic missiles.
The logical continuation of this work was the launch of the Volna LV in 1995
The carrier rocket "Volna", created on the basis of the RSM-50 (SS-N-18) SLBM, with a launch weight of about 34 tons, is used, first of all, for launches along ballistic trajectories to solve the problems of developing technologies for obtaining materials in microgravity and other research.
Combat use of RSM-50 SLBMs from a submerged position of a submarine is provided when the sea is rough up to 8 points, i.e. practically all-weather application for scientific research and launches of LV has been achieved.
The beginning of the commercial use of SLBMs can be considered the launch in 1995 of the Volna LV from the Kalmar project 667 BDRM submarine. The launch was carried out along the ballistic route Barents Sea - Kamchatka Peninsula at a distance of 7500 km. The thermal convection module of the University of Bremen (Germany) became the payload for this international experiment.
When launching the Volna LV, the rescued Volan aircraft is used. It is designed to conduct scientific and applied research in zero gravity with launches along suborbital trajectories.
In flight, telemetric information about monitored parameters is transmitted from the aircraft. In the final phase of the flight, the device makes a ballistic descent, and before landing, a two-stage parachute rescue system is activated. After a "soft" landing, the device is quickly detected and evacuated.
To launch research equipment of increased weight (up to 400 kg), an improved version of the Volan-M rescued aircraft is used. In addition to size and weight, this variant has an original aerodynamic layout.
In addition to scientific instruments weighing 105 kg, the rescued vehicle contains an onboard measuring complex. It provides control of the experiment and control of flight parameters. The "Volan" ALS is equipped with a three-stage parachute landing system and equipment for operational (no more than 2 hours) search for the vehicle after landing. In order to reduce the cost and development time, technical solutions, components and devices of serial missile systems were borrowed to the maximum extent.
During the 1995 launch, the microgravity level was 10-4…10 -5g with a zero gravity time of 20.5 minutes. Research has begun, which show the fundamental possibility of creating a rescued aircraft with scientific equipment weighing up to 300 kg, launched by the Volna carrier rocket along a trajectory with a zero gravity time of 30 minutes at a microgravity level of 10-5…10-6 g.
The Volna rocket can be used to launch equipment on suborbital trajectories for studying geophysical processes in the upper atmosphere and in near space, monitoring the Earth's surface, and conducting various, including active, experiments.
The payload area is a truncated cone with a height of 1670 mm, a base diameter of 1350 mm and a blunt radius of the top of the cone of 405 mm. The rocket provides launching of payloads with a mass of 600 … 700 kg on a trajectory with a maximum height of 1200 … 1300 km, and with a mass of 100 kg - with a maximum height of up to 3000 km. It is possible to install several payload elements on the rocket and separate them sequentially.
In the spring of 2012, an EXPERT capsule was launched from a submarine in the Pacific Ocean using the Volna conversion rocket and space complex commissioned by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
The EXRERT project is being implemented under the leadership of the European Space Agency.
The Stuttgart Institute for Research in Design and Engineering Technology and the German Aerospace Center developed and manufactured a ceramic fiber nose for the EXPERT capsule.
The ceramic fiber nose contains sensors that record environmental data as the capsule returns to atmosphere, such as surface temperature, heat flux, and aerodynamic pressure. In addition, in the bow there is a window through which the spectrometer records the chemical processes occurring in the shock front when entering the atmosphere.
→ Technical characteristics of the "Volna" launch vehicle.
Launch vehicle "Calm"
The family of light-class launch vehicles: Shtil, Shtil-2.1, Shtil-2R was developed on the basis of the R-29RM SLBM and is intended for launching small spacecraft into near-earth orbits. The carrier rocket "Shtil" has no analogues in the world in terms of the level of achieved energy and mass indicators, it provides launching of payloads weighing up to 100 kg into orbits with a perigee height of up to 500 km at an inclination of 78.9º.
When finalizing the standard R-29RM SLBM for launching the spacecraft, some changes were made. A special frame has been added for mounting the spacecraft to be launched, and the flight program has been changed. At the third stage, a special telemetry container with service equipment was installed to control the launch by ground services. The designers also had to solve the problem associated with the heating of the head fairing during the launch of the rocket and its exit from the water, which could lead to damage to the spacecraft.
The spacecraft is housed in a special capsule that protects the payload from thermal, acoustic and other influences from the upper stage. After entering the specified orbit, the capsule with the spacecraft is separated, and the last stage is removed from the flight path of the spacecraft. The opening of the capsule and the release of the load is performed after the step has gone to a distance that excludes the effect of the operating engines on the spacecraft.
The first launch of the Shtil-1 LV was made on July 7, 1998 from the nuclear submarine K-407 Novomoskovsk. The payload was two satellites of the Technische Universitat Berlin (TUB) -Tubsat-N and Tubsat-Nl.
The largest of the Tubsat-N satellites has overall dimensions of 320x320x104 mm and a mass of 8.5 kg. The smaller of the Tubsat-Nl satellites is installed at launch on the top of the Tubsat-N spacecraft. Its overall dimensions are 320x320x34 mm, and its weight is about 3 kg.
The satellites were launched into orbit close to the calculated one. The parameters of the orbit of the third stage of the launch vehicle after withdrawal from the spacecraft were:
A special container weighing 72 kg is installed on the third stage of the carrier. The container contains telemetry equipment for monitoring a number of parameters and equipment for conducting radio monitoring of the orbit.
The nuclear submarine K-407, from which the launch was carried out, is part of the third flotilla of the Northern Fleet and is based at the Sayda-Guba naval base (naval base) in Olenyaya Bay near the village of Skalisty (formerly Gadzhievo, then again renamed Gadzhievo) Murmanskaya area.
This is one of seven ships built according to the project 667BDRM "Dolphin" (Delta IV according to NATO classification).
The "Shtil-1" launch vehicle makes it possible to place a payload weighing 70 kg into a circular orbit with an altitude of 400 km and an inclination of 79 degrees.
The design of the upper stage of the prototype is designed to accommodate four compact warheads in isolated small-sized volumes. Due to the fact that modern commercial spacecraft are characterized by a low packing density and require a relatively large integral space, the full use of the LV's energy capabilities is impossible. That is, the LV design imposes a limitation on the space occupied by the spacecraft, which is 0.183 m3… The LV power engineering allows launching a spacecraft of a greater mass.
Conversion of the R-29RM rocket into the Shtil carrier rocket is carried out with minimal modifications, the spacecraft is placed on the landing site of one of the warheads in a special capsule that provides protection from external influences. The missile is launched from the submarine or surface position of the submarine. The flight is carried out in inertial mode.
A distinctive feature of this complex is the use of the existing infrastructure of the "Nyonoksa" training ground, including ground launch facilities, as well as serial ballistic missiles R-29RM, removed from combat duty. Minimal modifications to the rocket will ensure high reliability and accuracy of placing the payload into orbit at a low launch cost ($ 4 … 5 million).
The Shtil-2 LV was developed as a result of the second stage of modernization of the R-29RM ballistic missile. At this stage, a payload compartment is created to accommodate the payload, consisting of an aerodynamic fairing that is dropped in flight and an adapter on which the payload is located. The adapter provides docking of the payload compartment with the carrier. The volume of the payload compartment is 1.87 m3.
The complex was created on the basis of ballistic missiles of submarines R-29RM (RSM-54, SS-N-23) and the existing infrastructure of the Nyonoksa Northern Range, located in the Arkhangelsk Region.
The landfill infrastructure includes:
Rocket and space complex "Shtil-2"
Ground launch complex
The latter includes a technical and launch position equipped with equipment for storage, pre-launch operations and rocket launch.
The complex of control systems provides centralized automatic control of the systems of the complex in all operating modes, control of pre-launch preparation and launch of a rocket, preparation of technical information and a flight task, input of a flight task and control of a rocket for placing a payload into a given orbit.
Information-measuring complex - provides reception and registration of telemetric information during the flight, processing and delivery of measurement results to the launch customer.
Numerous launches from a ground test stand and submarines have shown the high reliability of the R-29RM serial prototype rocket (the probability of a successful launch and flight is at least 0.96).
The ground launch complex allows:
Launches from the ground launch complex ensure the formation of orbits in the range of orbital inclinations from 77 ° to 60 °, which limits the area of use of the complex.
When launches from the submarine shaft, it is possible to start in the latitude range from 0 ° to 77 °. The range of possible inclinations is determined by the coordinates of the starting point.
At the same time, the possibility of using the submarine for its intended purpose remains
To improve the conditions for placing the payload, a variant of the Shtil-2.1 launch vehicle with a head fairing was developed.
When the rocket was equipped with a larger head fairing and a small upper stage ("Shtil-2R"), the payload mass increased to 200 kg, and the volume for placing the payload increased significantly.
The use of the submarine as a launching complex makes it possible to launch Shtil carrier rockets practically to any orbital inclinations
The aerodynamic fairing was made sealed to provide dust and moisture protection of the payload. The design of the aerodynamic fairing allowed for hatches on the side surface to supply additional payload connections with the equipment of the ground launch complex.
Launches could be carried out from a ground launch complex or from a submarine shaft on the surface.
The main characteristics of the complex LV "Shtil-2" are given in table.
The Shtil-3A rocket (RSM-54 with a new third stage and an overclocking engine in case of launch from an An-124 aircraft (according to the Aerokosmos project)) is capable of delivering a payload weighing 950-730 kg to an equatorial orbit with an altitude of 200-700 km …
At the insistent requests of the workers (voyaka uh & Co), I interrupt so as not to muddy the mind of the reader. However, don't get disconnected, I haven't covered systems yet "Surf" and "Rickshaw", as well as how you can quickly reforge the plowshares into swords again.
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