October 4, 2017 marks exactly 60 years since the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite. Today, there are thousands of devices in orbit: communications satellites, Earth remote sensing, meteorological, reconnaissance, space observatories and many others. It would seem that the space industry is developing successfully. However, not everything is so simple, journalist Igor Tirsky believes.
Shining prospects?
Recently, businessmen have become interested in space, the possibility of private space exploration, asteroid processing, colonization of the Moon and Mars has opened up. Entrepreneurs in the near future will be able to offer everyone who wants suborbital flights to an altitude of about 100 km above the earth - almost into space!
Interest in space began to show and people far from this area, hitherto engaged in other things: Richard Branson, Vladislav Filev (S7 airline), Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk. So far, these are mostly Western entrepreneurs.
In the future, we can expect a boom in space tourism, launching thousands of satellites into near-Earth orbits for distributing the Internet, as well as bases on the Moon and Mars from private companies and moving millions of tourists there.
And this is not a joke, but the real plans of entrepreneurs in the field of private space. For example, Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX, promises to send a million people to Mars!
It seems that in the foreseeable future, humanity will gradually occupy the entire near-Earth space and settle there thoroughly. The number of operating spacecraft in Earth's orbit will also increase sharply.
Another scenario is possible
Space is difficult, expensive, long, and therefore the business prospects for its conquest are not attractive to many. So far, the entire range of services in this area is available only to states and large private companies (which, again, enjoy state support). But even for them, investing in space is a risk. The apparatus in orbit may fail, the launch vehicle may explode. Naturally, space technology is insured, and insurance will cover all costs, but there may simply not be enough time to produce another satellite.
Even if everything goes well and the devices put into orbit begin to function, the investments may not “rebound”, and the technology may simply become outdated. There is a good example - the Iridium satellites, which provide space communications via a satellite phone anywhere on the planet Earth. The first call in the Iridium system took place in 1997, and she herself was conceived 10 years earlier - in 1987, when not everyone knew about cellular communications.
But as we now see, the Internet for the same purposes is simpler and cheaper. In addition, cell towers in many countries are growing like mushrooms. LTE is no longer something outlandish - rather, you will be more surprised if you see a person with a satellite phone. "Iridium" was not needed in the mass segment - there is a cellular connection, in extreme cases - cheaper satellite services from other providers. One of the reasons for the bankruptcy of the company in 1993 was an incorrect assessment of the spread of a new technology - cellular communications. Iridium continues to exist to this day, but it's already harder for them to compete with other providers that offer much cheaper satellite phone service.
Something similar is happening today, but with the world wide web: companies such as OneWeb or SpaceX are threatening to launch thousands of artificial Earth satellites, equipping them with antennas for distributing the Internet around the world.
That is, theoretically, every inhabitant of the planet will be able to have access to high-speed satellite Internet for relatively little money or even free of charge.
The latter depends on which monetization model will be chosen. Nowadays, this is relevant, since about half of the world's population does not have permanent access to the Internet.
When Motorola launched its network of Iridium satellites, the market was similar: the current scale of mobile communications in the late 80s was unthinkable, and the company intended to cover the globe with its own network. Now, cellular communications are rapidly penetrating even to remote corners of our planet, but the quality of the Internet leaves much to be desired - this is what OneWeb and SpaceX want to fix.
Satellite Internet is a good alternative to cable and cellular. It is not as expensive as it seems at first glance, if we are talking about simplex, or one-way, access: a simple antenna and relatively cheap receiving equipment are required, and GPRS, 3G, ADSL, etc. are used as an outgoing channel - in a word, any terrestrial internet. In territories where there is no other connection, only a duplex satellite network is possible, when the terminal operates in the mode of a receiving and transmitting device at the same time, but it is much more expensive than a simplex one.
At the moment, satellite companies and cellular operators can still compete with cable fiber-optic Internet due to the fact that the latter has not penetrated everywhere. But everything goes to the fact that the Earth will be surrounded by a cable, and we will no longer need a worldwide network from space.
Will OneWeb and SpaceX communication systems turn out to be unprofitable in the future?
It is likely that the need for satellite Internet will remain in countries such as India, on the African continent and in hard-to-reach places where it is simply impossible to lay a cable or install many LTE towers. But will the cost be acceptable in this case and will it be possible to obtain regulatory approval? It seems that satellite Internet will remain uncontested for a long time to come, at least for half of the world's population. But things can change quickly.
Drones and stratospherics instead of rockets and satellites
Satellites are used not only to deliver the Internet, but also for remote sensing of the Earth (ERS), or, more simply, for photographing the surface and sending data. But we are already noticing the development of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for remote sensing. They are more convenient: cheaper, more mobile, can be serviced on the ground and controlled manually.
Therefore, the question arises of the need for satellites in orbit when there are atmospheric drones. After all, they are not afraid of clouds (they descended under them - and there is no problem), the resolution of the image can always be increased also by lowering it, drones, unlike satellites, can cut circles over one area for quite a long time and, thus, collect information in real time . In addition, all of the above measures will cost less than the operation of a satellite system, because in the latter case, more than one hundred devices are needed for a confident view of the area, and this is billions of dollars.
Space observatories - that's exactly what will not be replaced, you say. But projects such as the VLT, E-ELT (39-meter telescope from the European Southern Observatory) and SOFIA (airborne observatory) can be worthy alternatives. True, not in all wavelength ranges, and this is where stratospheric balloons (stratospheric balloons) come to our aid.
They are able to freely rise to heights of about 40-50 km above the ground and carry a large load in the form of an observatory. Another advantage is that they do not have problems with microgravity. When they move, there is no high load, which, in turn, is taken into account in the design of launch vehicles, which increases their mass and, as a result, significantly limits the possibility of various kinds of improvements. They can be serviced at any time, including during operation: you can fly up to the balloon on another balloon or lower it to the ground for repairs. Back in 1961 (in the year of Gagarin's flight), a project was initiated for a stratospheric solar station with a Saturn mirror telescope, the diameter of the main mirror was 50 cm. ,12") from a height of 20 km above the ground.
Altitudes from 20 to 100 km are sometimes called "near space" because of their slight resemblance to real space: a person can no longer exist there without a protective suit, and the view from the window is almost like in orbit, only satellites do not fly, the sky is dark purple and black-lilac, although it looks just black in contrast to the bright Sun and the earth's surface.
But real space, or near-Earth space, starts at 100 km. At these altitudes, in order to create sufficient lift, the aircraft must already move at a speed higher than the first space one. In any case, it will no longer be a plane, but a satellite. From a practical point of view, the key difference here is in the method of delivery: we fly to ordinary space on rockets, and you can get to the near one on stratospheric balloons.
Stratostats are a forgotten technology of the 30s of the XX century. These are not airships filled with hydrogen and exploding from every spark, but helium cylinders similar to balloons, capable of rising into near space, to stratospheric boundaries, that is, up to 50 km. There are projects of stratospheric balloons (although it is difficult to call them that, they are rather suborbital satellites) that can operate at an altitude of up to 80 km. But this is all for the military, while civilian models do not yet rise above 40-50 km, however, this is enough for most tasks that are now solved only using satellites located in space above 100 km above the earth.
Stratostats were forgotten with the beginning of the space age in 1957, but exactly 60 years have passed - and they were remembered again! Why did it happen? As mentioned above, space flights are an expensive pleasure, not available to everyone; not even every country can afford a full-fledged space program. But to master the stratosphere is welcome, here the numbers are much more modest, and the results are no worse. And it's not just a cheap way to achieve high altitude, but also the technology that is used to create stratospheric balloons and now allows them to stay in the sky for hundreds of days!
This is much more than before: solar panels power the stratospheric balloons during the day, powerful batteries (which are lightweight!) Store energy at night, lightweight and durable materials retain the design of the device, GPS allows them to easily determine the position, on-board computers independently take solutions.
It is the complex of modern technologies that now allows us to talk about the emerging market for stratospheric services.
For example, the stratospheric company WorldView plans to launch tourists at altitudes up to 45 km! To do this, they came up with a new gondola, providing it with huge windows through which tourists can see the blackness of the daytime sky and the surface of our planet almost the same as it appears to the eyes of astronauts - the Earth will become round!
"Near" space is more profitable than far
The only thing that will remain in real space (above 100 km) is navigation: GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo. But this problem can also be solved without the use of expensive satellite systems - with the help of stratospheric balloons, drones and other ground-based and air-based means. Moreover, LTE and Wi-Fi offer a good alternative to GPS, LBS (Location-Based Service) technology does a good job of navigating, determining the location using terrestrial cell towers and Wi-Fi. So far, however, in terms of accuracy it is inferior to any, even the worst navigation system, and the error is at best tens of meters, while GPS has less than a meter.
"Near space", as the stratosphere (heights from 20 to 50 km) is often rightly called, in the near future may take a central place in the scientific field, bypassing the near-Earth space in terms of attractiveness.
Sending stratospheric balloons equipped with special equipment and a whole laboratory with people on board to altitudes of up to 50 km will become a common thing. There is no need to protect stratonauts from destructive radiation, solar storms and, most importantly, space debris, which is the main obstacle to the development of near-Earth space. Most likely, in the near future we will be forced to abandon space and take up the atmosphere - primarily because it is much cheaper to make stratostats and drones and there is no need to provide the level of protection and life support systems that are needed in Earth orbit.
For the solution of national economic problems (communications, remote sensing, astronomy, scientific experiments), stratospheric balloons can compete with space satellites. After all, much cheaper analogues will appear: neural network-controlled models (they will decide for themselves where it is better to move and how to group - and they are already doing it, for example, within the framework of the Google Loon project, developing and hard-to-reach regions receive the Internet in this way) and autonomous drones that can exist in the atmosphere for days.
Stratostats can continuously monitor the same place on the planet (devices with this function are called "geostationary"). There are no strong winds and low turbulence in the stratosphere, so the stratostat can hover over one point in the same way as a satellite does. Only in order to deliver a satellite to geostationary orbit (36,000 km above the earth), a powerful launch vehicle is needed, and for a stratospheric balloon, helium balloons, little funding and a desire to compete with traditional communication technologies and remote sensing.
The development of stratonautics will lead not only to the abandonment of expensive satellites for remote sensing or communications, but also to the fact that these satellites will be delivered to the Earth's orbit by other means, if this is nevertheless required. For example, the Zero 2 Infinity company is developing a project to reach the Earth's orbit using launches from the stratosphere - this is a promising direction when the stratostat serves as a spaceport or platform for a satellite that must go on a rocket into real space. Even if these projects specifically do not find support from investors, the vector for the development of the stratosphere has already been clearly identified.
The presence of a large number of stratospheric balloons in the Earth's atmosphere will create a global distributed communication system (akin to what computers form at home).
We will better understand the weather, receive remote sensing data directly to our personal devices, have Internet access with minimal signal delay in hard-to-reach places, and be able to communicate decentralized through these devices.
In other words, any data received by stratospheric balloons will be processed more accurately and faster than "orbital" ones. The philosophy of the decentralized internet should be extended to other areas, and stratospheric balloons and drones are ideal for this model of the world.
What is the planet Venus, closed from observers on Earth by a dense atmosphere? What does the surface of Mars look like and what is the composition of the Martian atmosphere? Telescopes could not answer these questions. But everything changed with the advent of radar.
It turned out that radio waves sent by radars from the Earth are reflected from space bodies in the same way as and from terrestrial objects. By directing radio signals to a specific astronomical body, and analyzing the signals reflected from it, one can obtain information about a space object.
This is how radar radio astronomy appeared, exploring the planets and their satellites, comets, asteroids and even the solar corona using radio signals.
near and far space
Often distinguished near and far space. The boundary between them is very conditional.
The near space is called the space explored by spacecraft and interplanetary stations, and the far space is considered space outside the solar system. Although a clear boundary between them is not established.
It is believed that the near space is located above the Earth's atmospheric layer, which rotates with it and is called near-Earth space. There is no longer an atmosphere in near space, but all objects in it are still affected by the gravitational field of our planet. And the farther from the Earth, the less this influence becomes.
Deep space objects - stars, galaxies, nebulae, black holes, located outside the solar system.
Near space is inhabited by the planets of the solar system, satellites, asteroids, comets, the Sun. According to space concepts, the distance between them and the Earth is considered small. Therefore, it is possible to study them with the help of radars located on the Earth. These are special powerful radars called planetary radars.
Radar research of near space
Center for deep space communication in Evpatoria
Space radars operate on the same physical principle as conventional ground-based radars serving ships and aircraft. The radio transmitter of the planetary radar generates radio waves that are directed to the investigated space object. The echo signals reflected from it are captured by the receiving device.
But due to the huge distance, the radio signal reflected from the space object becomes much weaker. Therefore, transmitters on planetary radars are very powerful, antennas are large, and receivers are very sensitive. So, for example, the diameter of the radio antenna mirror in the Center for Deep Space Communications near Evpatoria is 70 m.
The first planet to be explored by radar was the Moon. By the way, the idea to send a radio signal to the Moon and then receive its reflection arose as early as 1928 and was put forward by Russian scientists Leonid Isaakovich Mandelstam and Nikolai Dmitrievich Papaleksi. But it was technically impossible to implement it at that time.
Leonid Isaakovich Mandelstam
Nikolai Dmitrievich Papaleksi
This was done in 1946 by American and Hungarian scientists independently of each other. A radio signal sent from a powerful radar towards the Moon was reflected from its surface and returned to Earth after 2.5 seconds. This experiment made it possible to calculate the exact distance to the moon. But at the same time, it was possible to determine the relief of its surface from the picture of the reflected waves.
In 1959, the first signals reflected from the solar corona were received. In 1961, the radar signal went towards Venus. Highly penetrating radio waves penetrated its dense atmosphere and made it possible to "see" its surface.
Then the exploration of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn began. Radar helped to determine the size of the planets, the parameters of their orbits, the diameters and speed of their rotation around the Sun, as well as to explore their surfaces. With the help of radar, the exact dimensions of the solar system were established.
Radio signals are reflected not only from the surfaces of celestial bodies, but also from ionized traces of meteor particles in the Earth's atmosphere. Most often, these traces appear at an altitude of about 100 km. And although they exist from 1 to several seconds, this is enough to determine the size of the particles themselves, their speed and direction using the reflected pulses.
Airborne radars on controlled space objects
Small spacecraft (SSC) "Kondor-E" with a radar
The modern development of mankind cannot be imagined without the further exploration of outer space and the development of astronautics. The most important element of this process are carriers, with the help of which astronauts and other payloads are delivered to low Earth orbit. Yury Grigoriev, professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Doctor of Technical Sciences, laureate of the USSR State Prize, academician of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after V.I. K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Russian and European Academies of Natural Sciences.
Everything that seems to be above us, we usually divide into three parts.
1. Near-Earth space - this is a gaseous space, an atmospheric layer above the Earth, rotating together with the Earth.
The closest and most accessible region of outer space to research is near-Earth space
That part of the atmospheric layer that is located above a particular state is under the jurisdiction of this state, and the penetration of any foreign objects (airplanes, gliders, balloons, etc.) into it is considered as a violation of the state border with all the ensuing consequences.
The atmospheric layer has long been effectively used to transport people and various cargoes, for which many types of aircraft and other aircraft have been created.
Near space is a public domain, it is a zone of flights of various spacecraft.
2. Near space - This is the area around the Earth, located above the near-Earth space. By a UN decision, the boundary between the near-Earth space and near space is defined at an altitude of about 100 km above sea level.
There is practically no atmosphere here, but the physical characteristics of the near space are under the influence of the Earth, primarily its gravitational field. This influence decreases with distance from the Earth and finally disappears only at a distance of more than 900 thousand km from the Earth.
Near space is a common property, it equally belongs to all states and citizens of the whole world, it is a zone of flights of various spacecraft. In order for the spacecraft to become an artificial satellite of the Earth, it must be accelerated to the first cosmic velocity - 7.9 km / s, and in order to be lowered from space orbit, it must be slowed down to a speed below the specified value.
Mankind, along with the subsoil, land, ocean and atmosphere, has also managed to clog near space.
After deceleration, spent and no longer needed spacecraft fall to Earth, burning in the atmosphere, and the remains that have not burned out sink into the ocean.
Spacecraft, which must not only fly in space, but also return to Earth, for example, with astronauts or valuable equipment, are equipped with special thermal protection, controls, rescue system, such as parachutes, etc., which allows them to descend to Earth in complete safety.
deep space- the world of stars and galaxies
3. Deep space - it is a world of stars and galaxies, where the influence of the Earth is no longer felt. To send a spacecraft into deep space, it must be accelerated to the second cosmic velocity - 11.2 km / s, after which the device becomes a satellite of the Sun. And in order to leave the solar system, the device needs to accelerate to the third space velocity - 16.6 km / s.
Spacecraft designed to operate in deep space fly there irrevocably. Their flight can last for years, and during all this time they transmit to Earth the information received by their equipment during the flight.
The delivery of spacecraft to near and far space has so far been carried out only by ballistic launch vehicles. So far, nothing else has been invented - the projects for creating space elevators have not yet left the fantasy stage.
Rocket and space complexes of Russia
Let us ask ourselves a simple question: why are disposable rockets used to launch into space, and above all, into near space? Why do we not have launch vehicles that, after fulfilling their function - launching spacecraft into space, would descend to earth and could be used again and again more than once?
The answer is very simple. Yes, because our launch vehicles are based on disposable combat intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Disposability for combat missiles is a completely natural property, but for launch vehicles it is an abnormal and expensive pleasure. I flew once, and everything that we worked on for a long time, everything is in the trash.
Launch vehicles OKB-1 - TsSKB - Progress, developed on the basis of R-7
Launch vehicle "Soyuz" and all its modifications (payload up to 8 tons), on which our and now foreign cosmonauts fly into space and deliver cargo to the orbital station, were developed on the basis of the world's first R-7 ICBM, created in 1957 (chief designer S .P. Korolev).
The Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket was delivered to the Plesetsk cosmodrome to launch the Glonass-M spacecraft
Launch vehicles of the Soyuz type are still being produced. They are environmentally friendly because their engines run on kerosene (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer).
The Proton launch vehicle has been manufactured in various versions to date.
The Proton launch vehicle (payload up to 23 tons), on which blocks of orbital stations and heavy spacecraft are launched into space, was first developed as an ICBM UR-500K, created in 1965 (chief designer V.N. Chelomey), and when the need for it disappeared, it was converted into the now so popular Proton launch vehicle, which has been manufactured in various versions to this day.
The engines of this rocket operate on fuel components that are environmentally harmful and dangerous to humans: fuel - asymmetric dimethylhydrazine (heptyl), oxidizer - nitrogen tetroxide (amyl). For a combat missile, this is normal, but for a constantly used launch vehicle, it is simply unacceptable. But we don't have another solution yet.
RN "Rokot" - a three-stage rocket. The first and second stages are the UR-100N ICBM missile unit. The Breeze upper stage is used as the third stage.
Launch vehicles "Rokot" and "Strela" these are converted UR-100N UTTKh ICBMs decommissioned from combat duty (general designer V.N. Chelomey, since 1984 G.A. Efremov). The production of these rockets has long been discontinued, so after they are used up, the Rokot and Strela launchers will disappear.
Launch of the carrier rocket "Dnepr"
The same fate awaits launch vehicle "Dnepr" , this is a modified decommissioned R-36M UTTKh ICBM (general designer V.F. Utkin). The fuel components of all these rockets are the same heptyl and amyl.
Reusable American space plane - the famous "Space Shuttle"
The Americans were the first to decide to create a reusable space plane. And they created the famous "Space Shuttle", which is a manned aircraft with a carrying capacity of 20-30 tons, equipped with powerful liquid engines, for which the main fuel supply is located in external tanks, which are dumped after the fuel is used up. In addition, two more discharged solid-propellant boosters were installed.
The unique missile system "Energia" - "Buran"
Our designers did not follow the path of copying the American Shuttle. It was decided to create a universal design capable of not only delivering 30 tons into orbit and lowering 20 tons of cargo from it, like the Americans, but also be able to deliver loads up to 100 tons into orbit.
A unique rocket system "Energiya" - "Buran" was created (general designer V.P. Glushko). Since the design organizations of the rocket and space ministry, which was then called the Ministry of General Machine Building, had no experience in developing aircraft systems, NPO Molniya was created in the structure of the Ministry of Aviation Industry (chief designer G.E. Lozino-Lozinsky), which since 1976 became the lead developer of the Buran spacecraft and conducted a large cycle of theoretical and experimental research to create this unique space aircraft.
When creating the Energia-Buran space system, 85 new materials were developed, which are significantly higher than traditional materials in their properties, 20 unique automation and control systems were designed, 400 inventions were registered, 20 patents and 100 licenses were obtained.
The first flight of the Energia launch vehicle took place on May 15, 1987. As an experimental load on the rocket, a 75-ton spacecraft was installed - a prototype of an orbital laser platform.
The rocket worked normally, but the spacecraft was not launched into the calculated orbit due to a failure of the attitude control system of the spacecraft itself.
During the second flight of the Energia launch vehicle, the Buran space plane was installed on it (without pilots)
The second flight of the Energia launch vehicle was carried out on November 15, 1988. The space plane "Buran" was installed on the rocket (without pilots). It was a brilliant flight. The Buran, launched into orbit, circled the Earth twice, then descended from orbit, turned over the Baikonur Cosmodrome and landed in automatic mode with high accuracy. The deviation from the center of the runway did not exceed one meter.
The author at that solemn moment happened to be at the Mission Control Center (MCC) in the city of Korolev. There was general rejoicing both at the Control Center and at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, from where there was a live television broadcast of everything that was happening directly at the MCC, including the flight of the Buran and the fighters that met and accompanied it.
Unfortunately, the general designer V.P. Glushko could not see all this - he was seriously ill and was in the hospital. His colleagues went to the hospital and reported everything to him, but two months later Valentin Petrovich died.
The third Energiya rocket was ready to fly in early 1989, but this heavy-load flight was rescheduled first to 1990 and then to 1993-1995.
The fourth rocket with "Buran" was being prepared for launch at Baikonur, while "Buran" was supposed to fly in automatic mode according to a more complex program, with docking with the Mir orbital station. A manned flight was scheduled for 1992.
Energia-M launch vehicle for launching spacecraft weighing up to 35 tons
In addition, on the basis of the Energia launch vehicle, the Energia-M launch vehicle was developed to launch spacecraft weighing up to 35 tons into low, medium, high circular and elliptical orbits and up to 6.5 tons into geostationary orbit, as well as for launching spacecraft on the flight path to the Moon and the planets of the solar system.
This rocket was intended to replace the environmentally hazardous Proton launch vehicle, which would eliminate the need to alienate large areas of land in the areas where the first stage of the rocket fell with the remnants of highly toxic fuel components and ensure operational safety.
Launch vehicle "Energy II" ("Hurricane") was designed as a fully reusable design
The launch vehicle "Energy II" ("Hurricane") was also developed, which was designed as a fully reusable design. All elements of the system were returned to Earth for reuse, and the central block of the Hurricane was supposed to enter the atmosphere, plan and land on a conventional airfield in an unmanned mode.
It is easy to understand that if with the help of Proton, in order to create a 100-ton space station in space, it is necessary to use five rockets, each of which will deliver one 20-ton block (module) into orbit, and these modules still need to be docked in space, then using the Energia rocket, it would be possible to develop an optimal 100-ton space station, carry out all the necessary checks on the ground and put it into orbit with one rocket.
The first construction of the 112th site is the Assembly and Test Building - MIK. In it, in 2002, a collapsed roof crushed the only Buran flying into space.
However, at the beginning of 1990, work on the Energia-Buran program was suspended, and in 1993 the entire program was closed completely. At the Baikonur Cosmodrome, several Energia launch vehicles were in various stages of readiness.
Two of them became the property of Kazakhstan, but were destroyed on May 12, 2002 during the collapse of the roof of the assembly and testing building at site 112.
Three were at various stages of production at NPO Energia, but after the work was closed, this backlog was destroyed, the manufactured missile bodies were either cut or thrown away, and several Buranovs were shown for a long time at various exhibitions both here and abroad.
The Americans rejoiced - now their superiority in space exploration could not be questioned. True, even with the availability of documentation, they could not deploy the production of liquid engines from the Energia rocket and still buy modifications of these engines from us and fly into space on them.
The unique automated, so-called "unmanned" launch complex of the launch vehicle "Zenith"
Using blocks and fragments of the Buran rocket, a launch vehicle "Zenith" with a payload of 12-14 tons (general designer V.F. Utkin). It was immediately created as a launch vehicle.
For the first time in the world, a unique automated, so-called "deserted" launch complex was developed for it (general designer V.N. Solovyov).
When you watch the pre-launch preparation of our Soyuz-type rockets, you see various kinds of farms, sites where employees of the launch team work.
Start "Zenith" is a unique sight. At first, there is nothing, then a train with a rocket arrives, which is installed vertically on the launch pad, while all the lines are docked automatically.
There are no people on the launch pad; operations are controlled and controlled remotely from the command post. Commands are also remotely given to refuel the rocket, check all systems and, finally, start.
Of course, we are no longer capable of recreating the Energiya-Buran rocket and space system, but it is also impossible to continue with Soyuz and Proton alone, especially in light of the creation of the Vostochny cosmodrome. Launches of the Proton, the spent stages of which will fall into the sea with the rest of the fuel, are unlikely to please our Asian neighbors.
Not to mention accidents, which cannot be completely ruled out, especially in light of the current decline in the qualifications of our specialists.
Models of launch vehicles "Angara"
The Angara family of launch vehicles has long been developed, flight tests of one of these missiles, according to the decree of the then President Yeltsin, were to begin in 1995, but have not yet begun.
But many years will pass from the moment these tests begin, which, apparently, will begin, until the moment the full-scale launches confirm the highest level of reliability of the launch vehicle, which makes it possible to start launching cosmonauts, many years will pass.
Of course, the best solution would be to place the Zenith launch vehicle with its automated launch at the Vostochny cosmodrome, but this rocket was developed and manufactured in Dnepropetrovsk, i.e. now already abroad, although the launch complex itself was created in Moscow.
It's time for us to create a new reusable launch vehicle, which would have only the first stage reusable, which, after separation, consists of two empty, and therefore not very heavy fuel tanks and an engine.
"Baikal" is an accelerator on the RD-191M liquid-propellant rocket engine (a modification of the single-chamber RD-171, made for the Angara launch vehicle) with a thrust of 196 tf
Versions of the reusable accelerator "Baikal" at the RCS "Angara"
It is necessary to turn the first stage into an aircraft, for which it is necessary to mount wings and controls on it and install a control system similar to the one that brilliantly controlled the Buran in automatic mode.
Of course, rocket designers alone cannot cope with this, and therefore it is necessary to attract aircraft manufacturers who will help turn the first stage of the launch vehicle into an aircraft that is not very beautiful, but capable of descending from heaven to earth.
Of course, a sustainer engine for such a first stage should be designed not for one launch, as for a combat missile, but for multiple use. This problem was solved here decades ago, when the chief designer N.D. Kuznetsov created the NK-33 and NK-43 engines for the N-1 launch vehicle (Lunar Program).
After the closure of this program, the finished engines were stored in complete safety for many years, and in the new Russia they quickly found use: dozens of such engines were sold to the American company Aerojet, along with documentation and a license for their production.
The creation of a launch vehicle with a reusable first stage would open up new horizons for Russia in astronautics. The development of a reusable second stage is a subsequent stage of development, in which the experience gained would already be used and new ideas would be implemented.
Sea level - 101.3 kPa (1 atm.; 760 mm Hg atmospheric pressure), medium density 2.7 1019 molecules per cm³.0.5 km - 80% of the human population of the world lives up to this height.
2 km - 99% of the world's population lives up to this height.
2-3 km - the beginning of the manifestation of ailments (mountain sickness) in non-acclimatized people.
4.7 km - MFA requires additional oxygen supply for pilots and passengers.
5.0 km - 50% of atmospheric pressure at sea level.
5.3 km - half of the entire mass of the atmosphere lies below this height (slightly below the top of Mount Elbrus).
6 km - the border of permanent human habitation, the border of terrestrial life in the mountains.
6.6 km - the highest located stone building (Mount Lullaillaco, South America).
7 km - the limit of human adaptability to a long stay in the mountains.
8.2 km - the border of death without an oxygen mask: even a healthy and trained person can lose consciousness and die at any moment.
8.848 km - the highest point of the Earth Mount Everest - the limit of accessibility on foot.
9 km - the limit of adaptability to short-term breathing of atmospheric air.
12 km - breathing air is equivalent to being in space (the same time of loss of consciousness ~ 10-20 s); limit of short-term breathing with pure oxygen without additional pressure; ceiling of subsonic passenger liners.
15 km - breathing pure oxygen is equivalent to being in space.
16 km - when in a high-altitude suit, additional pressure is needed in the cockpit. 10% of the atmosphere remained overhead.
10-18 km - the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere at different latitudes (tropopause). It is also the boundary of the rise of ordinary clouds, rarefied and dry air extends further.
18.9-19.35 - Armstrong's line - the beginning of space for the human body - boiling water at the temperature of the human body. Internal bodily fluids do not yet boil at this altitude, as the body generates enough internal pressure to prevent this effect, but saliva and tears may begin to boil with the formation of foam, eyes swell.
19 km - the brightness of the dark purple sky at the zenith is 5% of the brightness of the clear blue sky at sea level (74.3-75 candles versus 1500 candles per m²), the brightest stars and planets can be seen during the day.
20 km - the intensity of the primary cosmic radiation begins to prevail over the secondary (born in the atmosphere).
20 km - the ceiling of hot air balloons (hot air balloons) (19,811 m).
20-22 km - the upper boundary of the biosphere: the limit of the ascent of living spores and bacteria into the atmosphere by air currents.
20-25 km - the brightness of the sky during the day is 20-40 times less than the brightness at sea level, both in the center of the band of a total solar eclipse and at dusk, when the Sun is 9-10 degrees below the horizon and stars up to 2nd magnitude are visible.
25 km - during the day you can navigate by bright stars.
25-26 km - the maximum height of the steady flight of existing jet aircraft (practical ceiling).
15-30 km - the ozone layer at different latitudes.
34.668 km - official altitude record for a balloon (stratospheric balloon) operated by two stratonauts (Project Strato-Lab, 1961).
35 km - the beginning of space for water or the triple point of water: at this height, water boils at 0 ° C, and above it cannot be in liquid form.
37.65 km - a record for the height of existing turbojet aircraft (Mig-25, dynamic ceiling).
38.48 km (52,000 steps) - the upper limit of the atmosphere in the 11th century: the first scientific determination of the height of the atmosphere from the duration of twilight (Arabic scientist Alhazen, 965-1039).
39 km - a record for the height of a stratospheric balloon controlled by one person (F. Baumgartner, 2012).
45 km is the theoretical limit for a ramjet.
48 km - the atmosphere does not weaken the ultraviolet rays of the Sun.
50 km - the boundary between the stratosphere and mesosphere (stratopause).
51.694 km - the last manned altitude record in the pre-space era (Joseph Walker in the X-15 rocket plane, March 30, 1961)
51.82 km - altitude record for a gas unmanned balloon.
55 km - the atmosphere does not affect cosmic radiation.
40-80 km - maximum air ionization (transformation of air into plasma) from friction against the body of the descent vehicle when entering the atmosphere with the first cosmic velocity.
70 km - the upper limit of the atmosphere in 1714 according to the calculation of Edmund Halley based on the data of climbers, Boyle's law and observations of meteors.
80 km - the boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere (mesopause): height of noctilucent clouds.
80.45 km (50 miles) is the official height of the boundary of space in the United States.
100 km - the official international boundary between the atmosphere and space - the Karman line, which defines the border between aeronautics and astronautics. Aerodynamic surfaces (wings) starting from this height do not make sense, since the flight speed for creating lift becomes higher than the first cosmic speed and the atmospheric aircraft turns into a space satellite. The density of the medium at this height is 12 trillion molecules per 1 dm³
SPACE, space (from the Greek ϰόσμος - orderliness, beauty; the universe, including the Earth; rarely - the vault of heaven; in Soviet terminology, a synonym for English outer space - extraterrestrial space), space extending mainly beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Includes near-Earth, interplanetary, interstellar and intergalactic outer space. The most explored and mastered is near-Earth space.
Near-Earth outer space is limited by the sphere of Earth's attraction, within which the influence of the Earth's gravitational field on the spacecraft flight is decisive in comparison with the influence of the gravitational fields of the Sun and planets. Flight conditions in near-Earth outer space are determined mainly by the characteristics of the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere and various fields (gravitational, magnetic, and electric), the radiation environment, and the possibility of encountering meteorite bodies. Near-Earth outer space according to its physical conditions is divided into surface space (75-150 km), near (150-2000 km), medium (2-50 thousand km) and far (over 50 thousand km) space. Surface space is located below the natural radiation belts of the Earth and is characterized by a relatively high density of the atmosphere, which makes long-term orbital flight practically impossible only due to inertia forces, and also requires significant thermal protection of the spacecraft. At the same time, aerodynamic lift can be used here (for example, for maneuvering). Near space has a low atmospheric density, which allows spacecraft to exist from several hours to several years. The lower regions of the Earth's inner radiation belt are located here. At altitudes of 500-1000 km, spacecraft flight is least susceptible to external disturbances. Medium space is characterized by a very low density of the medium, which determines the duration of the inertial flight of the spacecraft from one year to hundreds of years. It contains almost all areas of the Earth's radiation belts. In middle space, it is possible to create spacecraft constellations that are immobile relative to the earth's surface. Deep space is now practically undeveloped. The orbit of the Moon, libration points in the Earth-Moon system are located here, in which there are no gravitational perturbations of the Sun, planets and the Moon, which allows them to be used to create long-term space systems and scientific research.
Outer space is actively used for various purposes to ensure human life. Systems of space communication and relaying, means of navigation, meteorological and topographic and geodetic support, reconnaissance of the Earth's natural resources and continuous monitoring of their state, research of the Earth and its atmosphere have been created and are functioning here. In the future, it is envisaged to deploy into outer space the production of energy resources, raw materials and new (ultra-pure) materials. Since the beginning of development, outer space has been considered by the leading powers of the world as a potential theater of operations, which is due to the possibility of implementing global navigation and communication systems, promptly obtaining global reconnaissance, topogeodesic, meteorological and other information; state extraterritoriality, which makes it possible to receive intelligence information in peacetime throughout the globe without violating the sovereignty of states; the ability to bring space offensive and defensive systems as close as possible to the enemy and influence his objects in any theater of operations, as well as to use weapons based on new physical principles. Since the mid-1980s, research and other preparatory work began on the implementation of the US Strategic Defense Initiative (which provided for the creation of space anti-missile weapons, including orbital-based ones), as a result of which, at the end of 2001, a decision was made to create a national missile defense system, and in 2002 on the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty 1972. The Russian Federation, according to the adopted military doctrine, opposes the militarization of outer space, but at the same time, based on the principle that the level of technical equipment of the Armed Forces corresponds to the needs of ensuring military security, the Space Forces were created in Russia (2001).
The international legal regime of outer space is determined by international space law. The national space research program is within the scope of the internal competence of each state, regulated by the norms of its national law. The exploration and use of outer space in Russia is carried out in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation "On Space Activities" (1993), which establishes the legal and organizational foundations for space activities in solving socio-economic, scientific, technical and defense problems.
Lit .: Burdakov V. P., Siegel F. Yu. Physical foundations of astronautics. Space physics. M., 1975; Avdeev Yu. F. Cosmos, ballistics, man M., 1978; Space and Law. M., 1980.
