"Angara" (launch vehicle): specifications and launch

Flights in space for the decades after the launch of the first satellite of the decade have become so frequent that the average citizen does not follow them closely. In a near-earth orbit, hundreds of apparatuses of various purposes are constantly rotating. Satellites provide communication, surveillance, navigation, they are used for research, and have become the same familiar attributes of modern life as cell phones, laser readers or personal computers, which previous generations could only dream of.

But artificial space objects are required to be put into the specified orbits, and this has become the same business as the most usual transport services rendered by auto enterprises, airlines, shipping companies or railways. Russia is the world leader in the delivery of satellites to near-Earth space. Space rocket "Angara", most likely, will soon become the main tool for this work.

About centrifugal force

After the collapse of the USSR, Russia legally lost its main cosmodrome, which is located in the Baikonur region and became Kazakh. Of course, you can use it, but now you have to pay for it, and quite a lot. The reasons why the launch sites of the first Soviet spacecraft were built in the southern part of the country are simple. The closer the cosmodrome to the equator, the greater the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the planet around its axis. Accordingly, the earth's gravity of the rocket is easier to overcome, it requires less fuel (other examples: Cape Canaveral, French Guinea). Russia's dependence on foreign countries, even very friendly, is undesirable. Cosmodromes "Plesetsk" and "Vostochny" are new starting platforms, from which it is supposed to be launched in the future. "Angara", a new-generation launch vehicle, should be powerful enough to put commercial cargo into orbit in the latitudes north of Baikonur.

KB tasks

Before the specialists of GKNPTS im. MV Khrunichev, and KB (Energia, KB Makeev, Energomash, etc.), working in cooperation with him, set the task of creating a complex that overlapped the range of media used previously. To such belonged produced in Ukraine, "Protons", "Cyclones" and "Zenith-2." All these samples of space technology had to replace the Angara missile. The technical characteristics of different types of media differed in power and mass of the payload being put into orbit. To achieve universality, a new conceptual approach was required.

First Deputy Director General of SPC. Khrunicheva A. A. Medvedev during the work on the project defended his doctoral dissertation. Later he headed the design team.

Modular construction

From the very beginning, Soviet carriers were built on a modular basis. The Vostok ships had engines in four packets surrounding the missile's hull. The designers of the Khrunichev State Space Research and Production Center were tasked not only to create a very strong system capable of putting heavy cargo into orbit. They had to design a family of carriers of various capacities to deliver objects of different mass to the near-Earth space. So there was a series of "Angara".

The launch vehicle includes in its design one universal module in variants "Angara 1.1" and "Angara 1.2". Three or five UMs create a higher load-carrying capacity for the subsequent classes "Angara-A3" and "Angara-A5". This ideology gives the system a universality and increases the commercial potential of the Russian space agency, which is free to exercise flexibility and avoid unnecessary costs.

There is another strategically important difference and advantage that the "Angara" is characterized by - the launch vehicle is completely built in Russia and is equipped exclusively with domestic units and nodes. Recent events clearly illustrate the economic viability of the space-technology sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

Technical data

The main indicator is the mass that the Angara rocket can put into orbit. Technical characteristics depend on the number of universal modules included in its design. At the most powerful variant of the carrier (series A-7, according to the number of UM) with a total mass of over 1100 tons, the payload reaches 35 tons. This is about the same as the Proton-M could raise, starting from Baikonur. The middle class is represented by the A-3 version, it can carry up to 14.6 tons, while it weighs 481 tons. And, at last, the lightest booster rocket is the Angara, the characteristics of which correspond to not very large and heavy objects, which most often need to be launched into space (3.8 tons).

In addition to the flexibility of the equipment, there is another important circumstance that increases the competitiveness of Russian commercial space exploration. The modular construction principle makes it easier and cheaper to deliver carriers to the cosmodrome. The missiles can be brought even by rail in disassembled form.

Environmental issues

The use of heptyl as a fuel for heavy carriers in conjunction with highly toxic oxidants creates a risk of environmental contamination of the terrain in the event of an accident or other abnormal situations. The basis of each universal rocket module, of which the carrier "Angara" consists, is the RD-191 engine, which operates on RG-1 kerosene. Oxidizing agent is liquefied oxygen, which significantly increases the safety of the system and minimizes harmful effects on the environment. In this case, each universal module generates a draft of 212.6 tons.

Design

The conceptual project was approved by Yu. N. Koptev, head of Rosaviakosmos, and approved by the Ministry of Defense, whose competence includes the activities of the Design Bureau. The work went on for ten years, as a result, the prototype was tested. In 2008, fire testing of a unified missile module took place at Khimmash (FC SIC RKP). Then, in 2009, passed the so-called "cold tests" and bench testing of hydraulic systems, fuel assemblies using fuel components. Finally, in 2010 all the nodes of the Angara URM were tested in a comprehensive manner. The launch vehicle was recognized as working. All the units and systems were subjected to state inspections. Now on the queue were flight tests.

First start attempt

No matter how accurate the calculations are, and no matter how successfully the ground and bench tests have passed, the main proof of the operability of any space technology is a successful launch. It was planned that on June 27, 2014 "Angara" will start from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The launch vehicle was to raise the second stage without entering the orbit, together with the mockup simulating the payload, to overcome 5.7 thousand km along the ballistic trajectory and fall in the designated area of Kamchatka (the Kura test range). That did not happen that day. Approximately one and a half minutes before the start, the automated control system provided information on the malfunction of the fuel system, expressed in the pressure drop in the oxidizer dampener. The pre-start time was stopped. Perhaps the President of Russia was upset because of this failure, but, apparently, was glad that the clever system did not allow much more trouble.

The flight is normal

The fuel was drained, the rocket was removed from the launch pad and all systems were rigorously tested at the assembly and testing facility. It took longer than expected, so the start was postponed again. Finally, it took place, it happened on July 9th. The flight passed in the planned normal mode. At the 43rd second of the 4th minute after the start, the first stage separated and fell into the Pechora Sea . The second stage started the engine in 2 seconds, it worked for 8 minutes. 11 seconds Resetting the head fairing occurred 10 seconds after the separation of the first stage. In general, everything went clearly on a given schedule. The whole flight to Kamchatka took 21 minutes.

The future of the Angara

At the moment there were two launches, and both were successful. During the second, a two-ton model was put on the geostationary orbit , which was then to be submerged in the ocean. In both cases, the modification was the easiest, there is no need to deliver 35 tons to the near-Earth space, although the characteristics of the Angara A-7 missile allow this.

It is possible that after overcoming the global economic crisis, international cooperation in space will enter a new stage of development, new ISS will appear, or the idea of interplanetary flights will arise. In the latter case, the most powerful carrier will be the transport that will deliver to the orbit a huge spaceship in parts for assembly.

Meanwhile, work is underway to certify the "Angara" for manned launches.