On December 22, an event took place that may go down in the history of world astronautics. The American company SpaceX conducted another successful launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle with a payload in the form of several spacecraft, after which its first stage returned to earth and made a regular landing. Thus, for the first time in the history of the Falcon program, it was possible not only to place a payload into orbit, but also to successfully land the first stage of a launch vehicle. It is expected that in the future this will significantly reduce the cost of launching cargo into orbit and thereby bring about a real revolution in the space field.
The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, modification v1.2, took place on December 22 at 01:29 GMT from the SLC-40 launch pad of the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome. The rocket carried 11 satellites of the Orbcomm-G2 series. According to reports, the launch took place in the normal mode. The first stage brought the rocket to a predetermined altitude, after which it separated and returned to the corresponding site of the cosmodrome. The second stage then put the payload into an orbit with an altitude of 620x640 km. It should be noted that successful launches of Falcon 9 missiles with payloads, including in the form of mock-ups, have been carried out since 2010, but this time for the first time it was possible to perform a flight according to a program that fully meets the initial requirements of the project. The main purpose of the launch was to return the first stage to the ground, after which it is expected to be used to build a new launch vehicle.
140 s after launch, the first stage lifted the carrier rocket to an altitude of about 72 km, while the flight speed reached 6000 km / h. After that, the first stage engines were turned off and disconnected from the rest of the rocket units. On the fourth minute of the flight, the command passed to the beginning of the maneuvering before returning to the ground. Three engines provided a stage turn to transfer to the desired trajectory. In the ninth minute of the flight, the stage began to enter the dense layers of the atmosphere, after which braking with the help of engines started. Immediately before landing, the engines started up again in braking mode, while the landing supports were released. In 9 minutes 44 seconds after the launch, the first stage of the launch vehicle successfully landed on the landing pad No. 1 of the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral.
Prelaunch preparation of the Falcon 9 v1.2 launch vehicle, December 21
Recall that the Falcon 9 v1.2 launch vehicle is the newest modification of the family, which differs from its predecessors in a number of innovations. The main goal of the project was to ensure the return of the spent first stage when launching the payload into any orbits. The changes affected the design and capacity of the fuel tanks, the power elements of the first stage were strengthened, etc. The increase in performance has led to an increase in the size and weight of the rocket. Its launch mass increased to 541.3 tons, and its length increased to 70 m. The payload mass remained the same.
The most important innovation of the Volume 1.2 project was the use of modernized Merlin 1D engines, which differ from their predecessors in increased thrust. It is noteworthy that this version of the engines develops the full thrust allowed by the design. In the case of previous engines, there was an intentional thrust limitation. In the new configuration, nine first-stage engines deliver 6806 kN thrust at sea level, while a single second-stage engine delivers about 930 kN thrust. By changing the thrust, the operating time of the first stage engines was reduced to 162 s, the maximum operating time of the second stage engine was 397 s.
Over the past years, SpaceX has been working on the algorithms for the return and landing of the first stage. Initially, simulated landings on water were carried out, after which it became possible to start full-fledged tests with landing on land sites or special sea vessels. A number of launches that allowed the payload to be put into orbit did not end with a successful landing: the first stages of the launch vehicles were regularly damaged or destroyed. Only on December 22, 2015 it was possible to carry out braking, descent and landing without any problems. The reentry stage successfully completed all the necessary maneuvers and made a soft landing at the assigned site.
The Falcon 9 rocket development company is delighted with its success. The recent launch ended with the successful completion of all the tasks set and confirms the fundamental possibility of implementing the existing plans. SpaceX intends not only to create a project, but also to begin the full operation of a new launch vehicle. Quite a long time ago, the specialists of the developer company talked about the advantages of the proposed rocket architecture and the advantages of the recoverable first stage. By returning to the ground the first stage, equipped with nine rather complex and expensive engines of the Merlin family, it is planned to dramatically reduce the cost of launching rockets and thereby reduce the cost of delivering cargo to orbit.
SpaceX is now reportedly studying the recovered first stage. The result of this study should be an assessment of the performance of the units and the determination of the possibility of their reuse. Further, thus, it will be necessary to carry out another launch, which will help to prove the possibility of re-using an already flown stage. The exact timing of the re-launch has not yet been specified. The next launch of the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for January next year, but whether it will use the already tested first stage is still unknown.
The development company claims that the use of reusable first stages will achieve significant reduction in start-up costs. The possibility of such work has not yet been confirmed by tests, but the authors of the project are optimistic about the future. Moreover, the approximate launch schedule of Falcon 9 rockets with one or another payload has been determined for the next few years. Simultaneously with practical launches, various studies will be carried out aimed at achieving the set goals.
Rocket launch, December 22 (December 21 local time)
As you can see, it is still far from the start of full-fledged operation of launch vehicles with reusable first stages. Nevertheless, the first real step towards achieving this goal has already been taken. It is difficult to say how long the whole process of mastering new technologies will take. Probably, real results will be achieved by the end of this decade. Thus, in the very near future, a real revolution may take place in astronautics.
The Falcon 9 v1.2 launch vehicle has so far only partially solved the task: only one successful launch has been completed with the return and normal landing of the first stage. Nevertheless, given the pace of development and implementation of the project, it is already necessary to make forecasts for the future and try to predict what results the emergence of a fully functional reusable rocket system will have for world cosmonautics. It can be assumed that the completion of the Falcon 9 project could also affect the Russian space program, which is one of the leading in the world.
In the current configuration, the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is capable of launching a payload weighing up to 13, 15 tons into a low reference orbit. For a geo-transfer orbit, this parameter is 4.85 tons. Thus, in terms of basic parameters, the latest foreign-developed launch vehicles are not inferior to the existing Russian ones. systems of the same class or even superior to them. Given the promised reduction in launch costs, the Falcon 9 project may pose a threat to the future of the Soyuz-2 family of missiles and light versions of the Angara.
Thus, in the foreseeable future, the main Russian launch vehicles, including the newest ones, will be able to maintain their positions in the market for launching spacecraft into orbits with different parameters. In the case of a more distant perspective, the situation may look worse. With the existing characteristics and the possibility of reducing the cost of launches, the Falcon 9 rocket in the current or new versions is able to win back a certain market share, pushing out both Russian and foreign counterparts. It is quite possible that at a certain stage, the volume of launches of such missiles will be limited only by the production capabilities of the developer company.
Nevertheless, the Russian cosmonautics is quite capable of retaining some of the developed market sectors, as well as increasing its presence in them. At present, our country has a heavy carrier rocket "Proton-M", which is capable of delivering up to 23 tons of cargo to LEO and about 6, 75 tons at the GPO. In addition, a new project "Angara-A5" is being developed. A promising rocket will be able to lift at least 24 tons to a low reference orbit and 5.4 tons to a geo-transfer orbit. - up to 12 tons.
SpaceX, in parallel with work on the medium Falcon 9 launch vehicle, is designing a heavy Falcon Heavy system with increased performance. It is argued that this rocket will be able to deliver about 53 tons of cargo to a low reference orbit and up to 21.2 tons to a geo-transfer one. The development of the Falcon Heavy project was announced in 2011, and the first launch was originally planned for the 13th. In the future, the timing of the first launch, as well as the cost, were repeatedly adjusted. At the moment, the first launch is scheduled for May 2016. The launch of 6, 4 tons into a geo-transfer orbit is estimated at 90 million US dollars.
In the project of a heavy rocket, it is supposed to use the developments on the Falcon 9, namely, the structural elements returned to the ground. It is due to this that it is proposed to reduce the cost of launching and launching various cargoes into certain orbits.
Within the framework of the Falcon Heavy project, it is planned to create a launch vehicle with uniquely high characteristics, but so far these are only intentions, not supported by practical results. The first prototype of a promising rocket will take off no earlier than the end of spring next year, after which it will take some time to work out various elements of the project. As a result, the timing of the actual receipt of the declared maximum characteristics has not yet been determined. Moreover, they can significantly shift to the right due to problems at one stage or another associated with the need to return some of the rocket modules.
It can be assumed that the future prospects of the Falcon program, implemented by SpaceX, do not look entirely unambiguous, but generally positive. The existing mid-range Falcon 9 rocket is already successfully delivering cargo into orbit, although it is not very successful in returning the spent first stage to the ground. Of the several flights in the program of which this procedure was provided, only one was successful. Whether it will be possible to repeat this success in the foreseeable future is not yet entirely clear. Nevertheless, we can already talk about the emergence of a new competitive launch vehicle, which can squeeze out other systems and take its place in the market.
First stage landing after flight
As for the Falcon Heavy project, its prospects are still vague. If the existing plans are fulfilled, this system is really capable of winning a significant market share and taking orders from space agencies of other countries. However, the development of this project has not yet been completed and, apparently, she is facing certain difficulties. As a result, the launch dates for such a rocket have been repeatedly shifted, and further work will be complicated both by the design features of the heavy launch vehicle and by the requirements for returning the units with subsequent reuse.
As for the prospects of the domestic space industry in the light of the achievements of SpaceX, the situation in this area may be associated with certain problems. A promising competitor has appeared on the space cargo market, which is quite capable of winning a significant share of customers in the sector of light and medium-weight spacecraft. In addition, this competitor intends to get a place in the heavy sector, for which it is developing a corresponding rocket.
Fortunately for domestic and foreign companies in the space industry, in the struggle for the market, SpaceX will have to face many competitors in the face of recognized market leaders from Russia, the United States and Europe. Therefore, the struggle for the market is unlikely to be simple, and this will apply to both the medium and heavy sectors. In addition, it should not be forgotten that not all major problems have been resolved, which is why the Falcon program does not yet have the planned advantages over its competitors.
Nevertheless, despite all the questions of market division, it must be admitted that the recent launch is indeed a landmark event in the history of world astronautics. It shows that private companies in the space industry are really capable not only of building new equipment, but also of solving some issues, ahead of the recognized leaders in this matter, such as government agencies and other structures. On December 22, a private company managed not only to put the cargo into orbit, but also to ensure the return of the first stage of the launch vehicle to the landing pad. While the future prospects of rocketry and the market may still be the subject of controversy, hardly anyone would disagree with the fact that a new era is beginning in the history of the space industry.
