The world's first reusable launch vehicle intend to create in the company «SpaceX»
The unique project was announced by the American company SpaceX. She intends to present the world's only completely reusable spacecraft and the same launch vehicle. A distinctive feature of the project is that all parts of the unique complex will have to return to Earth using rocket engines. With this know-how, it is fundamentally different from the space shuttles of the shuttles returning to Earth on the wings, and the Soyuz, which use parachutes when landing.
This unusual project last week at a press conference in Washington, said the head of «SpaceX» Elon Musk (Elon Musk). As the project developers are planning, a two-stage carrier “Falcon 9” will put the ship “Dragon” into orbit. This ship is actually considered to be reusable - only the aggregate compartment is lost on every flight. The capsule in which the crew of the ship is located can be reused.
However, the most innovative in the project is a reusable rocket. Both stages of the launch vehicle after the end of their flight segment will have to descend into the atmosphere (the second stage is armed with a thermal shield) and land at the cosmodrome, performing braking using its own jet streams. In the future, these missile blocks can be filled with fuel and again prepare for the next launch.
The brightest and controversial know-how of the rocket is its reusable second stage.
In the near future, the SpaceX descent vehicle will be required to descend in the same way - on engines, instead of parachutes.
American engineers believe that “Dragon” will be able to easily slow down the flight on its rocket engines.
All reusable components of the designed system: the descent vehicle, the first and second stages of the launch vehicle.
We are wonderfully aware of the return of solid-fuel boosters of space shuttles to Earth. We also heard about a number of unrealized projects of reusable first steps (in Russia, this has already been discussed). But the real challenge came from the American designers and engineers - reusable rocket stage.
After all, this stage will have to develop the first cosmic speed. As soon as the ship or satellite is separated, reduce the orbital speed and enter the dense layers of the atmosphere, perform braking again by turning on the engines and landing on four landing pillars, like a lunar module.
According to media reports, Musk thus intends to drastically reduce the cost of space flight of people, thereby bringing the beginning of the colonization of other worlds, Mars, for example. SpaceX is making plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet in the next 20 years.
The head of SpaceX says that at the moment any launch of the Falcon 9 rocket costs 50-60 million dollars, and the cost of fuel is only 200 thousand dollars. Thus, with repeated use of all stages of the launch vehicle, the cost of delivering manned spacecraft to space would be reduced by an order of magnitude.
Elon Musk wonderfully understands that this project is not easy. He also does not name the final deadlines. “We have the whole project on paper, we did the calculations and modeling - everything works. Now we need to make sure that reality and modeling come to a common denominator. Since, more often than not, if this cannot be achieved, the reality wins after all, ”says Mr. Musk.
It should be added that at the moment the company is preparing for a new launch of the ship “Dragon”, using its own launch vehicle “Falcon 9”, only in its usual form.
“Dragon-y” is to carry out a demonstration flight and dock with the ISS in accordance with the developed program of the US Space Agency for Orbital Transportation for Commercial Purposes (COTS).
Dragon capsule at SpaceX's Hawthorne, California facility (Roger Gilbertson / SpaceX).
In August of this year, a pre-launch check “Falcon 9” was conducted on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral 40. The testing program included fueling the launch vehicle and carrying out all operations prior to launch, with the countdown stopped a second before the start. (Kyle Cothern / SpaceX).
SpaceX representatives believe that they themselves are ready for December 19 of 2011 to launch their own ship. However, this date has not been officially confirmed and may be moved to the beginning of 2012.
If the experiment conducted in orbit is successful, then the next flight of the “Dragon” could deliver the payload to the ISS.
By the way, the US authorities are counting on the development of private space companies. The September Senate 15 Appropriations Committee approved the allocation of 500 million dollars for commercial space flights in the NASA budget for 2012 a year.
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