US wants to find a replacement for the Soyuz spacecraft and Russian engines
According to the publication of The Washington Post, the conclusion of a multi-billion dollar contract for the construction of American spacecraft will breathe new strength into the US space program, which is experiencing certain difficulties. Journalists of the publication write that instead of paying 70 million dollars for a place in the Soyuz, this contract will allow the States to send astronauts from the territory of the United States for the first time in many years.
According to the publication, currently there are three main competing companies to enter into this contract. We are talking about two newcomers to the space industry - Sierra Nevada and SpaceX, as well as such a veteran of the industry as the concern Boeing. While the designers of Boeing and SpaceX are working on creating a capsule to deliver American astronauts to orbit, the third company, Sierra Nevada, is probably the most interesting proposal at the moment. We are talking about a spacecraft, which resembles a reduced model of the space shuttle and can be used from ordinary runways.
The Washington Post journalists emphasize that the launch of the first crew in the new American spacecraft was scheduled for 2015 year, but because of problems with budget funding, it was postponed to 2017 year. The American Aerospace Agency expects that the new shuttle will be able to make an average of two trips to the ISS every year. At the same time, the newspaper does not disclose the sources from which they received this information.
The idea of sending astronauts to the ISS on "their" spacecraft for a long time excites the minds of representatives of the American aerospace community. Talk about this began after the Space Shuttle manned program was finally curtailed in the past decade. These ships were very interesting in their own way, but their operation, apparently, was very expensive even for the US budget. For this reason, over the past few years, Americans have been flying to the ISS only with the help of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. At the same time, the contract for the implementation of such shipments between Roscosmos and NASA is constantly extended.
The latest version of this contract is valid until the end of 2020. This date is not accidental, as the Russian Federation does not yet see the need to extend the station’s operation after the end of the current decade. At the same time, the ISS for the United States is indeed an important object. The sanctions that Washington imposed on the Russian space industry before the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine - in the summer of 2013, had no effect on the flights of American astronauts on the ISS. Even at the moment when large-scale hostilities began in eastern Ukraine, the United States and Russia continued to fulfill their contractual obligations to deliver astronauts onboard the ISS. Although after increasing pressure on Russia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin threatened American politicians in his usual manner that if the situation developed in this vein, the Americans would have to send their astronauts to the International Space Station on a trampoline.
At the same time, using as an excuse the events taking place in Ukraine, aerospace companies from the United States probably began to put pressure on the aerospace agency and the government of the country, demanding increased funding for space programs that are aimed at developing American means of delivery into space. Most likely, the publication in the newspaper The Washington Post should be considered as an element of information pressure, noted in the Russian edition of "Expert".
Currently, one of the main contenders for the conclusion of a billion-dollar contract with NASA is the young company SpaceX. The company, which was created by billionaire Elon Musk, at the end of May 2014, held the first presentation of its updated Dragon spacecraft - Dragon V2. According to the creators of this unit, he can deliver the crew of 7 astronauts to the ISS, and then return them back to Earth, landing at any point on the planet. The presentation emphasized that the Dragon V2 is a reusable ship.
The spacecraft Dragon V2 was designed with the financial support of NASA. His first flight with astronauts on the ISS was to be held next year, but was moved to 2017 year. During his presentation, the cost of one seat in this spacecraft, 20 million dollars, was announced. It is planned that the ship will be used not only to deliver American astronauts to the ISS, but also to visit the space station by scientists and wealthy space tourists from different countries. It is Dragon V2 that is currently being considered by NASA as a direct replacement for domestic Soyuz spacecraft.
On the one hand, American successes in this direction are obvious. The American industry has really almost completed the work on creating a very cheap (in terms of place) “half-cash”. The “Ghetch” is because the Dragon can only independently descend from orbit, where it is taken by the new one-time launch vehicle Falcon 9. And it is precisely this rocket that conceals a hidden threat.
At the moment, the whole world (with the exception of China) uses exclusively the Soyuz carrier rocket with the same spacecraft on board to deliver people into space. Such a commitment to Russian space products is not accidental. Since the time of Yury Gagarin’s flight into space, Russian (formerly Soviet) spacecraft and their delivery vehicles have been the most reliable on the planet. The last 20 years for these purposes is used rocket "Soyuz-U". This launch vehicle on 850 of perfect launches has a total 21 failure (at the same time, all unsuccessful launches occurred only with a load, not a single case with cosmonauts). Another Russian rocket, Soyuz-FG, which was specially created to launch the Soyuz-TMA and Progress cargo ships to the ISS, has already made 48 successful launches from 48 since the beginning of the 21st century. The reliability confirmed by long operation.
At the same time, the American Falcon 9 rocket, which is also manufactured by SpaceX, managed to make the entire 4 launch with the Dragon spacecraft on board. The difference, as they say, is obvious. In this case, if NASA in fact decides ahead of time (before accumulating reliable statistics on crash-free flights) to transfer from the Soyuz to the American spacecraft now being built and their means of delivery into orbit, the risk to the lives of astronauts seems to be quite serious.
Rocket engines from Russia are also looking for a replacement.
In the USA, they would like to refuse not only the forced use of the Soyuz, but also the Russian rocket engines. The command of the US Air Force promulgated a request for information on rocket engines that will be used on American launch vehicles to deliver various cargoes into orbit. According to the Defense News, new rocket engines should replace the RD-180 - Russian-made closed-cycle liquid-propellant rocket engines, although it is not directly reported in the published request.
The US military is ready to consider various options, including the production or creation of analogs of the RD-180, or the development of another type of rocket engines that could be used with advanced EELV launch vehicles. According to the published requirements of the US military, new rocket engines should be relatively inexpensive, commercially viable for use on launch vehicles, and quite effective.
It is reported that the proposals from the development companies will be accepted until September 19 of the current year. After this date, it is planned to hold a tender for the creation and supply of rocket engines. At the end of May 2014, the Senate Committee on Armed Forces of the United States has already proposed to allocate 100 millions of dollars to create a rocket engine in the United States that could replace the engines purchased in Russia.
Currently, the United States is forced to regularly acquire in our country the RD-180 rocket engines, which in America are used on Atlas V missiles created by Lockheed Martin. 21 August, it was reported that the 2 first RD-180 rocket engines were received by the United Company United Launch Alliance. The engines from Russia were delivered as part of the contract for the production of this type of 29 rocket engines. At the same time, this is the first delivery of RD-180 power units after the annexation of Crimea to Russia.
Currently, the production of rocket engines RD-180 is engaged in the Russian scientific and production association "Energomash" them. Glushko. These rocket engines use kerosene as fuel, and oxygen acts as an oxidizing agent. The running time of these engines is 270 seconds. One such engine is able to develop thrust in 390,2 ton-force at sea level and 423,4 ton-force in vacuum conditions. Gross engine weight is 5,9 tons, diameter - 3,2 meters, height - 3,6 meters.
Information sources:
http://expert.ru/2014/08/22/v-kosmos-na-drakone
http://itar-tass.com/nauka/1393395
http://lenta.ru/news/2014/08/22/engine
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