Competition in the field of light launch vehicles is intensifying in the world, including from SpaceX, which opens the way to space for private business. Perhaps that is why Roskosmos sees prospects in the development of heavy rockets. Currently, the space agency is conducting research in the field of creating a superheavy launch vehicle with a payload of up to 80 tons, the launch complex for which can be used for more powerful rockets.

On Tuesday, at the academic readings on astronautics at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the new head of the agency, Colonel-General Oleg Nikolayevich Ostapenko, announced that in February a proposal would be submitted to the military-industrial commission to develop a super-heavy space rocket capable of launching cargo weighing more than 160 tons into a low reference orbit. . “This is a real challenge. In terms of higher numbers"- said Mr. Ostapenko. However, this will require government approval.

This launch vehicle should become the heaviest in the world. The current record is held by NASA's Saturn V rocket, which was used for the Apollo lunar space mission with a maximum payload of 120 tons.

The working group of Roscosmos is also discussing the issue of reviving the Energia superheavy launch vehicle project (100-200 tons), suspended more than 20 years ago, with the help of which in 1988 the reusable transport vehicle Buran was launched into space for the first and only time, returning to Earth unmanned. The side block liquid-propellant engine developed for Energia has become the most powerful of its type in the history of cosmonautics and is used on both Russian and American rockets.

Such large carriers are intended for launching blocks of orbital stations, heavy geostationary platforms and military cargo, as well as for expeditions to Mars and deep space. NASA is currently working on the Space Launch System super-heavy rocket, which will have two options: to lift 70 and 130 tons into low satellite orbit. The first test flight of a lighter model is scheduled for 2017. China is also developing its own Long March 9 super-heavy rocket for manned lunar missions.

To date, the largest operated Russian missile is Proton with a payload mass of 23 tons when launched into low orbit and 3.7 tons into geostationary orbit. Currently, Russia is developing a modular Angara missile, four variants of carriers of which have a payload capacity of 1.5 to 35 tons. The first launch has been repeatedly postponed, including due to disagreements with Kazakhstan, and is expected in current year from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in a light layout. According to the head of Roscosmos, decisions are now being made regarding the creation of a launch and technical complexes for the heavy Angara rocket with a payload of up to 25 tons.

Models of various layouts of Angara launch vehicles

Given that the Baikonur cosmodrome, suitable for launching heavy rockets, is now outside the state, a new Vostochny cosmodrome is being built in the Amur Region to guarantee Russia's spacewalk, the first launch from which the Soyuz-2 launch vehicle should be carried out in 2015 .

During the readings at Bauman University, Oleg Nikolayevich also spoke about the plans of the Russian space industry in the field of exploration of the natural satellite of the Earth: “We are planning further exploration of the Moon, including with the help of lunar rovers, we are planning not only the delivery of soil, but also experiments on the surface. It is not excluded the placement of long-term, long-lived stations on the surface, on which expeditions will work..

The Russian super-heavy rocket is planned to be launched in 2028, the construction of the corresponding launch pad at the Vostochny cosmodrome should be completed in 2027. The carrier will be called "Energy-5", it is being designed, the production will be entrusted. Such a rocket is practically not needed for near-Earth launches; its tasks may include sending missions to the Moon. Why in Russia they can still build a super-heavy rocket, but they are unlikely to be in time before the deadline, says.

"Constructor is being created"

The Energia-5V project was first presented by the General Director of Energia in November 2016. Currently, RKK is working on two missiles - Energia-5V-PTK and Energia-5VR-PTK (the latter with an oxygen-hydrogen upper stage). Carriers are capable of launching up to a hundred tons into a low reference orbit, up to 20.5 tons to an Earth satellite: a lunar version of the Federation spacecraft being developed by RSC or a lunar take-off and landing module.

According to the plan, the Energiya-5 super-heavy class rocket will unite five Soyuz-5 medium-class carriers - one module in the center (actually the second stage), four - on the sides (the first stage). The third stage will be borrowed from the Angara-A5V heavy rocket. Unfortunately, neither the Soyuz-5 nor the Angara-A5V have yet flown.

The Soyuz-5 carrier should replace the Zeniths assembled in Ukraine, which consist of more than 70 percent of Russian components, as well as Soyuz-2 rockets over time. It is planned to be used in manned astronautics, to launch a near-Earth version of the Federation spacecraft, as well as within. 30 billion rubles are allocated for Sunkar (the name of Soyuz-5 within the framework of the Russian-Kazakhstan Baiterek project) in the Federal Space Program for 2016-2025 (Phoenix development work).

The carrier should launch in 2022. Soyuz-5 will be able to launch up to 17 tons into a low reference orbit, the rocket provides two times fewer parts and assembly units than Soyuz-2. The RD-171 engine of the first stage of the Zeniths (and according to the plans of Soyuz-5) is still considered the most powerful liquid-propellant rocket engine in the world. Four such units (in the RD-170 version) were installed on the side boosters of the Soviet Energia super-heavy rocket.

The Angara-A5V is a heavy modification of the Angara family of rockets with an oxygen-hydrogen third stage that increases the payload capacity by ten tons (up to about 40 tons in low reference orbit). The development is estimated at 37 billion rubles, the entire program for the creation of the Angara-A5V, taking into account the deployment of the necessary infrastructure, will cost 150 billion rubles. The preliminary design of the Angara-A5V is planned to be completed in 2017, ground tests to be completed in 2025, and flight tests to begin no earlier than 2027.

Plans to create a super-heavy carrier within the framework of the Angara family (Angara-7 rocket) have long been abandoned. Moscow is responsible for the development and production of such missiles, which has long been trying to get out of the crisis with the help of multibillion-dollar injections. “Essentially, a constructor is created from which we will begin to model one or another type of media. All this is being done in order to reduce the time and cost,” says Solntsev about Energia-5V.

reinvent the wheel

In the history of Soviet cosmonautics there were two projects of superheavy carriers. The first rocket, N-1, was launched four times from 1969 to 1972, all unsuccessfully. This affected the space industry of the USSR - the successor Vasily Mishin resigned in 1974, his place was taken. He also decided to curtail the H-1 project and start work on a new superheavy carrier (“Energy”), which caused an ambiguous reaction among contemporaries.

Unfortunately, the technologies used to create the Soviet Energia superheavy rocket, both launches of which (in 1987 and 1988) were successful, have largely been lost, and their reproduction is not economically feasible. In the development of the Energia-Buran complex (the rocket and the reusable spacecraft it launches), as noted on the website of RSC Energia, “1206 enterprises and organizations of almost a hundred ministries and departments participated, the largest scientific and production centers of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus were involved and other republics of the USSR. In particular, if the production of kerosene-oxygen engines RD-170 was preserved, then the production of hydrogen-oxygen engines RD-0120 (four units were installed in the central unit of Energia, which is also the second stage) modern Russia unable.

Transition to a three-stage launch vehicle scheme and rational use oxygen-hydrogen fuel will allow, as RSC Energia decided, to reduce the total costs of development work on a new super-heavy rocket by almost one and a half times compared to copying the Energia launch vehicle (the Energia-Buran system cost the USSR 16.5 billion Soviet rubles).

Possible expenses for Energia-5 are still unknown. In 2015, it was estimated that the project, including the construction of the launch pad on Vostochny and related infrastructure, would take about 2.2 trillion rubles. Probably, this amount can be reduced, especially if it is possible to establish cooperation on the creation of the Soyuz-5 rocket with Kazakhstan and the S7 Space Transport Systems company, the owner of Sea Launch.

So it goes

In addition to Russia, China is also considering the creation of superheavy launch vehicles. In the US, such a missile is almost ready. The launch of the carrier is expected in 2017 Falcon Heavy(capable of launching 63.8 tons into a low reference orbit), in 2019 - SLS (Space Launch System, depending on the version, launches up to 70 and 129 tons into a low reference orbit), which participated in the development of the Saturn V carrier. Heavy already has one commercial contract, it is also planned to send tourists to the Moon and the Red Dragon ship to Mars with the help of this rocket. SLS, designed for missions to the Moon and Mars, can be used more than ten times. in May 2017, Deputy Prime Minister following a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Rogozin noted that such a rocket will appear only after 2025 and will be designed to fly not around the Earth, but around the Moon and other space bodies. "It new stage manned cosmonautics,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

The survey “Russia in the Space of the 21st Century: Ambition and Pragmatism”, conducted, showed: 51 percent of Russians believe that the country should be the first to create a base on the Moon, 50 percent should send an expedition to Mars. The opposite opinion is held by 41 and 44 percent, respectively. “In the attitude of Russians to space exploration, behind the romantic veil of distant wanderings and ambitions of the country, noticeable pragmatism is visible. The Russians would like to be the first in all significant projects, but would not like to pay one hundred percent of the costs, ”says Ivan Lekontsev, an analyst at VTsIOM.

In order for a satellite or ship with astronauts to go into orbit, it must fall into a certain space near the Earth and reach a speed of 8 km/s. These tasks are performed by missiles. The latter are called carriers, and the satellite or ship is called the payload. Of the operating, withdrawn or designed, the largest rocket is the Saturn 5. We bring to your attention the rating of missiles, formed in accordance with their length.

10. "Ariane-5" - 46-52 m. European launch vehicle of a disposable type. 94 launches were made, 90 were successful. First used in June 1996. Designed to launch objects with medium or large mass into orbit. One rocket launches 2-3 satellites and 8 small objects.

The amount of funds spent on the creation of the rocket is 7 billion US dollars. More than 46% was contributed by France. The carrier is being developed jointly by 1000 companies. Several models have been created. The cost of one launch is 140-150 million dollars. Based on the rocket, the Ariane-6 is being created. According to the latest forecasts, it will be launched in 2020 or later.

9. "Space Shuttle" - 56.1 m. A US spacecraft that has been used many times. From 1981 to 2011, 134 launches were made, of which 132 were successful. Developed in accordance with the Space Transportation System program, according to which shuttles are permanent cargo transporters from Earth to space and back.

Development started in 1971. Some technological features of the Apollo fuel system are used. A total of 1 prototype and 5 ships were built, 2 of which crashed while in use. 39 flights on account of the shuttle "Discovery".

8. "Big hike-5" - 57 m. The Chinese launch vehicle was launched twice: in November 2016 and July 2017. The name is reminiscent of the Long March of the Chinese Communists (1934-1936). Then the movement of troops took place under the able leadership of Mao Zedong.

Rocket fuel has minimal impact on nature. These are kerosene, liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Although previous models of the series used toxic heptyl. With a payload capacity of 25 tons, the Long March-5 has the honorary title of China's first heavy-class missile. Thanks to it, China, along with the Russian Federation, the USA and the EU, belongs to the group of large space states.

7. "Proton-M" - 58.2 m. From 2001 to the present day, they have launched 412 times. Successful - 365, unsuccessful - 27, partially successful - 20. M. V. Khrunichev. Designed to launch state satellites of the Russian Federation and commercial facilities in other countries. Proton-M is an improved model of Proton-K. More convenient to operate, less polluting environment and uses less energy.

The first stage of modernization was completed in 2004, the second - in 2007, the third - in 2008, and the 4th stage continues. Proton-M is used to launch the Glonass satellite system and Russian military facilities. Thanks to the launch vehicle, the territory of the Russian Federation is covered with a satellite communications network.

6. "Atlas-5" - 58.3 m. First launched in August 2002. Then the commercial satellite Hot Bird was put into orbit. The total number of launches is 71. Of these, only one is partially unsuccessful: the satellite did not get into the desired orbit, but is used for its intended purpose.

Developed as a response to the increase in the number of launches by Russians, Chinese and Europeans. Created a new rocket company Lockheed Martin. The main task of the latter is to reduce the cost of launch. Therefore, the rocket was developed on the basis of latest versions families - "Atlas-2" and "Atlas-3". They also borrowed the features of the Space Shuttle ships.

5. "Falcon Heavy" - 70 m. The launch is planned for 2017. It is assumed that the model will launch objects weighing up to 64 tons into low orbit, up to 27 tons into geotransitional orbit, up to 17 tons into Mars, up to 3.5 tons into Pluto. The creation of the rocket became known in April 2011. At that time, SpaceX announced that the work would be completed in two years. But the launch date kept changing.

During trial tests in mid-2015, an accident occurred. The developers decided to refine the Falcon 9 and changed the launch site. But in the early autumn of 2016, an accident occurred again. Therefore, Falcon Heavy will be launched from the SLC-40 complex, updated after the Falcon 9 explosion.

4. "Delta IV" - 63-70.7 m. First launched in 2002 and continues to be used in the US. Belongs to the Boeing Delta family. It was last flown on March 19, 2017. Created in accordance with the program for the development of disposable launch vehicles. Purpose - launch of commercial satellites and US military installations.

The indicated length range is explained by the presence of 5 rocket models. The cost also depends on the carrier option, which ranges from 164 to 400 million dollars. The world leader among rockets of all time in terms of the total payload launched into orbit.

3. "Space Launch System" -102.32 m. A super-heavy launch vehicle, which is being developed in the USA. Intended to be the successor to Ares-5, which was canceled along with the Constellation program. The first launch was planned for 2014, then postponed to 2017, but for now it is expected that it will take place in 2018.

Then the rocket will put into orbit the MPCV ship, the base of which is Orion from the Constellation program. Among the active "SLS" will be the largest lifting rocket at the time of launch. In general, it will take the 4th place in the world in terms of the indicator, yielding to the American Saturn-5 and the H1 and Energia created in the USSR.

2. "H1" - 105.3 m. Rocket of the times of the USSR super-heavy class. Actively developed from 1969 to 1974. It was created in OKB-1, which was led by Sergei Korolev and Vasily Mishin. It was intended to launch a space station weighing 75 tons into orbit. In the future, it was supposed to facilitate flights to the planets closest to the Earth - Mars and Venus. After the loss of the USSR in the lunar race, the purpose of the H1 program was changed. The rocket was planned to be used as a carrier of an expeditionary spaceship"L-3".

"H1" did not pass the first stage of testing four times. In 1974, the USSR canceled the program for manned travel to the moon. Since then, work on the "H1" has not been carried out, although it was officially stopped in 1976. Information about the rocket was kept secret until 1989. The name of the rocket is the first letter of the word "carrier" and the serial number of the development. In the West, they were referred to as SL-15 or G-1e.

1. "Saturn-5" -110 m. First used 9 November 1967 and last used in 1973. Leads among those launched in terms of carrying capacity. In the middle of the last century, it was developed as part of the Apollo program, which provided for the journey of people to the moon.

It belonged to the single-launched ones, since it immediately allowed to send the ships needed for a full-fledged expedition. And this is up to 50 tons of mass! The spacecraft was attached to the third stage of the rocket, and the lunar module was placed inside the adapter.

Also, a two-stage rocket model was once used. Then the first US orbital station Skylab was put into orbit.

Major space powers continue to develop new launch vehicles. Therefore, in ten years, even the current leader of this rating may change.

The Russian space industry operates launch vehicles of several classes and types. To solve some problems, astronautics needs super-heavy class rockets, but this moment there is no such technology in our country. However, a promising project is already being developed. Within a few next 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 fall. 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, CEO Rocket and space corporation "Energia" them. 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 shaping the appearance of the rocket.

It was proposed to build a new rocket on a modular basis. Key nodes should be borrowed from existing or developing projects rocket technology. So, the first and second stages should be taken from the project of a promising Phoenix medium-class rocket. The upper stage with engines using hydrogen fuel was planned to be borrowed from the designed Angara-A5V heavy rocket. As V. Solntsev noted, the Energy-5V project proposes the creation of a kind of constructor from which it will be possible to assemble a carrier of the desired configuration with the required characteristics. The purpose of this approach is to reduce the completion time and cost of the project.

By the time the information about the promising Energia-5V project was announced, there was already some information about two other launch vehicles planned to be used as a source of components and assemblies. So, it is known that the Angara-A5V rocket is a variant of another project of its family, which is distinguished by the use of a third stage with hydrogen-oxygen fuel pair engines. Such a modernization of the existing project, according to calculations, can significantly increase 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. As early as last year, it became known that in the future, the units of this rocket could be used to create a promising carrier of a heavy or super-heavy class.

Last year, only the most general plans were announced, which determine the course of further work in the area of promising launch vehicles. A few months later, some details of the future Energy-5V project became known. As it turned out, the rocket and space industry plans to offer two versions of the rocket at once with different characteristics and opportunities.

Information about new plans within the framework of 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 press center of RSC Energia refused to comment on such. However, in this case, the published information is big interest.

A TASS agency source 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. It was planned to present preliminary studies on two projects to the management of Energia Corporation, as well as to leading organizations in the rocket and space industry.

According to the announced information, both types of missiles will be built according to a three-stage scheme and use liquid-propellant 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 versions of the rocket will be close in their characteristics, but it is supposed 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 lunar 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 weight of 2346 tons. The use of an upper stage will provide appropriate advantages in solving certain problems.

When using Energia-5V rockets to deliver the Federation manned spacecraft or a promising take-off and landing module for a lunar expedition into orbit, it is possible to use the so-called. interorbital tug. This product can be developed and built on the basis of one of the existing upper stages of the DM family.

Over the next few months, enterprises in the rocket and space industry continued to work within the framework of a promising project. Among other things, the approximate terms for the creation of new launch vehicles and launch complexes for their operation were determined. On June 8, the TASS agency published new data on plans for the Energia-5V rocket. As before, the information was obtained from an unnamed industry source. In addition, similar to previous reports, TASS officials were unable to get a comment from officials, this time from the state corporation Roskosmos

According to an unnamed source, the launch complex for Energia-5V rockets will be built at the Vostochny cosmodrome. According to current plans, construction works will be completed in 2027. The first launch of a super-heavy carrier from the latest launch pad will be performed in 2028. Some features of the future complex were also announced. As it turned out, the current plans of the rocket and space industry involve 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 start-stand complex 17P31 for the Energia carrier. 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. What exactly are the principles of the launch pad for the old "Energy" should be transferred to new project- not specified.

It is alleged that the launch pad for the Energia-5V rocket will be universal and will allow launching equipment different types. With its help, it will be possible to send promising Soyuz-5 medium-class rockets 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 rockets 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 industry leadership had decided to speed up work on the subject of 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 move into 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 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 start of the development of a new engine, new messages about the promising Energia-5V project did not appear. Thus, only the most general information about the project, as well as the expected characteristics of the finished equipment. It is quite clear that the previously announced calculated information about the data and parameters may change significantly 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 carrier created three decades ago. As follows from previously published information, a new superheavy 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 wide application large modules borrowed from existing samples of rocket technology.

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 Phoenix project. The third stage, in turn, will be borrowed from the heavy Angara-A5V, which is also quite far from testing. The missile will be able to use existing and future upper stages. Such an approach will really speed up and reduce the cost of project development, although it will not make it possible 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 to the air in about two years. For the design and preparation for testing of Energia-5V, it will be necessary to wait for the completion of related projects used as a source of nodes.

The same is true with engines. According to reports at the beginning of the year, the first and second stages of the superheavy carrier will be equipped with RD-171MV engines. As far as is known, such a modification of the already existing RD-171 is not yet ready and will appear only in the foreseeable future. The RD-0150 engine also does not yet exist, 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 superheavy launch vehicle are of great interest. A few months ago, it became known that rockets would be able to send up to 100 tons of cargo to low Earth orbit, and a little more than 20 tons could be delivered to the Moon. With the help of upper stages of one model or another, it will be possible to obtain the appropriate results. At the moment, serial launch vehicles with similar characteristics are not in operation 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 domestic cosmonautics. In the past, attempts were made in our country to develop this direction, but they, for one reason or another, did not give real results. Thus, the first domestic superheavy rocket N-1, capable of launching 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 superheavy 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 Buran reusable transport ship. In 1987-88, two test launches took place, after which work had to be stopped. The project proved too expensive to implement at the time. Decay Soviet Union led to the closure of the project.

In the future, it was repeatedly proposed to create a new project for a super-heavy launch vehicle. For example, for some time the possibility of developing such a project within the framework of the Angara family was considered. However, for technical and economic reasons it was decided to confine ourselves to heavy class equipment only. The creation of a superheavy 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 the test 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 deadlines may shift to the left, since the country's leadership has made a fundamental decision to speed up 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 operated models. The existing plans involve the creation of rockets of all classes, from light to super heavy. This will allow not only to modernize the fleet of carriers by replacing obsolete equipment, but also to expand the capabilities of the domestic cosmonautics, as well as increase its competitive potential. Nevertheless, it will take a lot of time to fulfill all plans and create all the desired missiles - the first results of current programs will appear no earlier than the end of this decade.

According to the websites:
http://tass.ru/
http://interfax.ru/
http://ria.ru/
https://lenta.ru/
https://news.sputnik.ru/

This article focuses on the new concept of a super-heavy launch vehicle, which has been considered by Roscosmos as the baseline since 2017. You can read about previous projects of Roscosmos.

How did we get there

In 2015, due to a sharp budget cut, Roscosmos was forced to abandon plans to build a super-heavy rocket. This decision immediately deprived the long-term program of the Russian cosmonautics of at least some ambition. Although formally the plans for the flight to the Moon were not canceled - it was simply assumed that instead of a super-heavy rocket, the “weighted” hydrogen Angara-A5V would be used for them, everyone understood that even “on paper” flying around the Moon with four rockets does not look very realistic . And without the Moon, Russian manned cosmonautics is doomed to either be forever stuck in low Earth orbit or shut down.

In 2016, with a delay of two years, the Federal Space Program 2016-2025 was approved by the government. Compared to the first project in 2014, the amount of funding for astronautics under this program has halved. After the adoption of the FKP, it was additionally sequestered, and this process may continue.

Financing of the rocket and space industry, in addition to the FKP, comes from two more federal targeted programs. If there were no problems with the GLONASS program, then the program for the development of cosmodromes added a lot of headaches to officials. Expenses for it also decreased by about half, which is why plans to build two launch complexes for Angara rockets at the Vostochny cosmodrome had to be abandoned. Although it was initially denied, the lack of launch pads finally buried the idea of ​​a multi-launch flight to the Moon.

In theory, a complete rejection of the lunar expedition is quite possible. The only problem is that this will lose the point of developing a new manned spacecraft PTK NP "Federation". This order is being fulfilled by RSC Energia, which last years managed to prove herself as the most powerful lobbyist in the industry.

It was Energia that pushed through a new long-term program for the development of launch vehicles, the logical end of which is the creation of a new super-heavy rocket.

In the adopted thoroughly truncated FKP, the Phoenix development work on the creation of a medium-class rocket remained. Initially, its goal was to create a launch vehicle to replace the Ukrainian Zenith rocket. This medium-class missile is not in demand, and therefore it is surprising that this ROC survived the reduction of the program. It was she, however, who became the starting point for the new plan of Energia and Roskosmos.

According to the generalized program from 2015, in 2021, with the help of the Angara-A5P heavy launch vehicle (manned modification, carrying capacity of 24.5 tons or, according to another concept, 20 tons), flight tests of the new manned spacecraft "Federation" were to begin . From 2024, it was planned to begin testing the "weighted" hydrogen "Anagy-A5V" with a carrying capacity of 37.5 tons. This plan has three problems at once. Firstly, the Angara heavy rocket was supposed to be used for all modifications of the Federation ship, including both the lunar one (weight about 20 tons) and low-orbital (about 15 tons), which is very expensive and inefficient. Secondly, the deployment of serial production of universal missile modules (URM) "Angara" in the "Polet" in Omsk encountered difficulties and has not been completed so far. Thirdly, the construction of the launch pad for the Angara on Vostochny has not yet begun, and there are not so many chances to be in time by 2021-2022. This means that flight tests of the PTK NP will be repeatedly postponed. Well, besides this, as was written above, the hydrogen "Angara" is not at all suitable for a lunar expedition.

To solve these problems, RSC Energia decided to completely delete the Angara rockets from the manned program, which were developed and produced by the Center. Khrunichev. At the first stage, Energia decided to develop not a lunar, but a lighter low-orbit modification of the Federation ship, and to test it, use a medium rocket developed by the Phoenix R&D - it received two names: Soyuz-5 and Sunkar . "Soyuz-5" will receive the RD-171 engine in the first stage and will be outwardly different from the "Zenith" except perhaps in diameter. It will be able to fly from a modernized launch pad for Zeniths at the Baikonur Cosmodrome and from the S7 Sea Launch Cosmodrome, moreover, the work at Baikonur must be carried out at the expense of Kazakhstan, and the modernization of the Sea Launch complex, respectively, at the expense of S7. Thanks to the similarity new rocket with Zenit, redesigning launch complexes will be simple and inexpensive. It is Soyuz-5 that will be used to start testing the Federation, which, simultaneously with the first launch of the new rocket, was scheduled for 2022 (or rather 2023).

The contract for the development of Soyuz-5, of course, went to RSC Energia, but the Samara RCC Progress will become the main subcontractor and manufacturer.

The Angara-A5V hydrogen rocket has not yet been excluded from the program. She was left with the task of launching heavy military satellites. However, according to the head of the Center. Khrunichev Andrei Kalinovsky (in June 2017 he went to work at Roscosmos), the development of this rocket will not begin in the coming years. It is planned to start it after the appearance of the launch pad for the Angara on Vostochny, i.e. in the early 2020s. If the launch pad project does not include the possibility of using it with the hydrogen Angara, abandoning it will simply be a matter of time.

And where is the super-heavy rocket?

The bet on Soyuz-5 solved the primary problem. This missile, if created on time, will allow flight tests of the PTK NP to begin. But Soyuz-5 is not suitable for the lunar program. But a multi-module rocket is suitable, which can be connected from the first stages of the Soyuz-5 in the same way as the American Falcon Heavy consists of three Falcon 9s or how the Angara-A5 consists of five Angara-A1.2 modules. A rocket consisting of three medium-class modules on the first and second stages is informally referred to in a broad sense as a "trizenite". And a five-module rocket can be called a "five-zenith" by analogy. RSC Energia adopted this idea a long time ago, calling it Energia-5 (see the previous version of the article on super-heavy missiles). The first stage of Energia-5 consists of four boosters with one RD-171 engine (that is, each such booster is an analogue of the first stage of the Soyuz-5 rocket). The second stage is a similar central module. The third stage is oxygen-hydrogen, which, in fact, is a difference from the original concept of "multi-zenith". The carrying capacity of Energia-5 will be more than 90 tons into low Earth orbit, which will make it possible to deliver the PTK NP to the lunar orbit in one launch or organize a landing on the Moon in two launches.