On July 9, the first test launch of the new Russian launch vehicle Angara-1.2PP took place at the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The launch completed the calculation of the aerospace defense forces. The rocket successfully completed its flight mission and demonstrated its capabilities. In the future, it is planned to continue testing, during which the existing flaws of the rocket will be identified and eliminated. At the same time, it is planned to implement several new projects, which in the future will simplify the operation of new carrier rockets of the Angara family. In the past few days, there have been new reports on the progress of the project itself and related work.
Currently, the main task of specialists in the space industry is testing the heavy version of the Angara rocket. The first test launch of this product is planned for the end of this year. A few days ago, the Interfax news agency, citing sources in Roskosmos, reported that the first launch of the heavy version of the Angara would take place no earlier than December 25. The exact date of the tests will be determined by the Ministry of Defense, to which the Plesetsk cosmodrome belongs. The source of "Interfax" clarified that the priority in the test program is a successful launch, and not the implementation of plans on time. For this reason, in case of any serious problems, the launch can be postponed.
According to press reports, by the time of the first test launch of the heavy "Angara", the Ministry of Defense will start operating a new complex, which will reduce the negative consequences of missile exploitation. According to Izvestia, by the end of this year, the military will begin operating a system for detecting falling missile fragments. The complex created in the State Research and Production Center named after V. I. Khrunichev, will make it possible to quickly determine the area of the fall of missile fragments and take appropriate measures. In particular, this will allow emergency services to quickly arrive at the site and, if necessary, extinguish a fire or carry out other work.
According to Izvestia, the new complex has an original architecture. Its main component is an infrasound location station. Each such station has three modules with microphones that pick up low-frequency sounds, data processing systems and batteries. The modules are proposed to be located at a distance of up to 3-4 km from each other. The batteries will allow them to work autonomously for up to three years. Infrasonic locating modules must record sound waves propagated by the falling fragments of the rocket. By processing the received signals, an approximate area of incidence of the fragments can be determined. After that, it is proposed to connect the Orlan unmanned aerial vehicle to the search, which will allow finding the exact place of the fall of the wreckage and determining the need to call emergency services.
The placement of the modules of the infrasound location system will be handled by autonomous field support stations, which will include various equipment, as well as cars and all-terrain vehicles. The task of the field stations will be not only to place location modules, but also to ensure the safety of the local population. Using drones, specialists will find people in hazardous areas and evacuate them during the launch of the rocket. According to Izvestia, the infrasound location system has already passed tests and was used during the July launch of Angara. Thus, the military has already received a system that allows them to simplify the search for missile fragments and eliminate the possible negative consequences of their fall.
Currently, the launch complex for carrier rockets of the Angara family is available only at the Plesetsk cosmodrome. In the future, it is planned to launch missiles of this type from two cosmodromes: the second launch complex will appear at the Vostochny cosmodrome. At the end of September, the head of Roscosmos, Oleg Ostapenko, said that the construction of the launch complex for the Angara missiles would begin earlier than the originally planned date. Construction work at the new facility will start before the end of this year. Thus, the complex will be put into operation ahead of the previously established schedule.
In the future, it is planned to make serious changes in the process of building new launch vehicles. The Governor of the Omsk Region, Viktor Nazarov, in an interview for Rossiyskaya Gazeta, spoke about the upcoming reforms in the Angara missile construction system. At present, Omsk PO Polet produces only two stages of new missiles, but in the future it will begin to build fully missiles. The Polyot software will become the base site for the Angara project. This decision was made at the level of the country's leadership and the space industry.
As part of the program for creating a new family of launch vehicles, several additional projects are being implemented to help the operation of new technology. So, it is planned to build a new launch complex, as well as create a network of location stations to detect missile fragments. Nevertheless, the main focus of the public is the missile project itself. In early July, the first launch of a rocket of the Angara family took place, and another test flight is planned for the end of December.
It is noteworthy that the military department and Roskosmos regularly published information about the preparations for the first test launch of the Angara-1.2PP rocket. In the case of the launch of the Angara-A5 heavy rocket, the Defense Ministry and the space agency are in no hurry to share information. For example, there is still no official data on the exact launch date, and the available information was obtained by the press from unnamed sources.
However, some details of the upcoming launch are already known. According to some reports, the Angara-A5 missile will perform the task inherent in this class of equipment. The light "Angara-1.2PP" flew along a ballistic trajectory to the Kura test site in Kamchatka, and the heavy "Angara-A5" will have to launch a certain payload into orbit.
Thanks to the successful implementation of the Angara project, the Russian cosmonautics will receive several launch vehicles with different characteristics at once, allowing them to perform a wide range of tasks. The basis of the new launch vehicles is the so-called. universal rocket modules. Each such module is a body with fuel tanks and an RD-191 liquid engine. By combining universal modules, a launch vehicle with the necessary characteristics, most suitable for solving a specific task, can be created.
The development of the Angara project has been going on since the mid-nineties, but in the early stages, due to financial difficulties, the work proceeded with serious difficulties. In particular, the first launch was originally planned for 2005, but in the end it was carried out only after 9 years. In addition, the actual cost of the project turned out to be significantly higher than originally planned. Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties, the project reached the stage of construction and testing of prototype rockets. The first launch took place in early July and was completed successfully. The second is scheduled for the very end of the year. If the tests pass without any particular difficulties, then in a few years the Russian cosmonautics will receive several new launch vehicles capable of performing various tasks and launching a wide range of cargo into orbit.
