Spaceship definition. Reusable spacecraft

New Russian ships: Soyuz TMA-MS, Progress MS, PPTS and PTK NP Rus.

New US ships: Signus, Dragon, CST-100, Orion.

Existing Russian ships: Progress M, Soyuz TMA-M.
Existing US ships: No.

Photo of Signus with Soyuz TMA-M

Soyuz TMA-MS is a Russian multi-seat spacecraft for flights in low-Earth orbit.

New modernized version of the Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft. The update will affect almost every system on the manned spacecraft. The first launch is planned no earlier than 2016.

The main points of the spacecraft modernization program:

• the energy efficiency of solar panels will be increased through the use of more efficient photovoltaic converters;


• reliability of rendezvous and docking of the ship with the space station due to changes in the installation of the mooring and orientation engines. The new design of these engines will make it possible to perform rendezvous and docking even in the event of failure of one of the engines and ensure the descent of the manned spacecraft in the event of any two engine failures;


• a new communication and direction finding system, which, in addition to improving the quality of radio communications, will facilitate the search for a descent vehicle that has landed anywhere on the globe;


• new rendezvous and docking system “Kurs-NA”;


• digital television radio line;


• additional anti-meteor protection.

The modernized Soyuz TMA-MS will be equipped with GLONASS system sensors. During the parachute stage and after landing of the descent vehicle, its coordinates, obtained from GLONASS/GPS data, will be transmitted via the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system to the MCC.

Soyuz TMA-MS will be the latest modification of Soyuz. The ship will be used for manned flights until it is replaced by a new generation ship.

PTS, as a key element of the Russian space infrastructure, is created for the following tasks:

• ensuring national security;


• technological independence;


• Russia's unhindered access to space;


• flight to the polar and equatorial orbit of the Moon, landing.

For the PPTS, a modular construction of the base ship is adopted in the form of functionally complete elements - the reentry vehicle and the engine compartment. The ship will be wingless, with a reusable return part of a truncated conical shape and a disposable cylindrical engine compartment. The maximum crew of the new ship will be 6 people (for flights to the Moon - up to 4 people), the mass of cargo delivered into orbit is 500 kg, the mass of cargo returned to Earth is 500 kg or more, with a smaller crew. The length of the ship is 6.1 m, the maximum diameter of the hull is 4.4 m, the mass during near-Earth orbital flights is 12 tons (for flights to lunar orbit - 16.5 tons), the mass of the return part is 4.23 tons (including soft systems). landing - 7.77 t), Volume of the sealed compartment - 18 m³. The duration of the ship's autonomous flight is up to a month. New structural materials based on aluminum alloys with improved strength characteristics and carbon fiber reinforced plastics will reduce the weight of the spacecraft structure by 20-30% and will extend its service life. Household compartments will simply be docked, depending on the task that the PTS will face.

NASA is dependent on its partners in the ISS program. In this regard, NASA management decided to begin work on the COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation) program. The essence of the program is the creation by private companies of inexpensive means of delivering cargo into orbit.

Cygnus is a private transport automatic cargo supply spacecraft.

SpaceX's Dragon is a private transport spacecraft designed to deliver payload and, eventually, people to the International Space Station.

CST-100 (Crew Space Transportation) is a manned transport spacecraft developed by Boeing.

Orion, MPCV, is a multi-mission reusable manned spacecraft.

The goal of this program was to return Americans to the Moon, and the Orion spacecraft was intended to deliver people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and for flights to the Moon, as well as to Mars in the future.

At the moment (2013) the new ships in space are Signus and Dragon, and after 2020 real competition in space should begin and I hope the dawn of the space age of humanity begins.

Dragon SpaceX - judging by the data and that it has already begun to fly, is a very successful development and a serious competitor.

Interesting video about the International Space Station / ISS

Today, space flights are not considered science fiction stories, but, unfortunately, a modern spaceship is still very different from those shown in films.

This article is intended for persons over 18 years of age

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Russian spaceships and

Spaceships of the future

Spaceship: what is it like?

On

Spaceship, how does it work?

The mass of modern spacecraft is directly related to how high they fly. The main task of manned spacecraft is safety.

The SOYUZ lander became the first space series of the Soviet Union. During this period, there was an arms race between the USSR and the USA. If we compare the size and approach to the issue of construction, the leadership of the USSR did everything for the speedy conquest of space. It is clear why similar devices are not being built today. It is unlikely that anyone will undertake to build according to a scheme in which there is no personal space for the astronauts. Modern spaceships are equipped with crew rest rooms and a descent capsule, the main task of which is to make it as soft as possible at the moment of landing.

The first spaceship: history of creation

Tsiolkovsky is rightly considered the father of astronautics. Based on his teachings, Goddrad built a rocket engine.

Scientists who worked in the Soviet Union became the first to design and be able to launch an artificial satellite. They were also the first to invent the possibility of launching a living creature into space. The States realize that the Union was the first to create an aircraft capable of going into space with a man. Korolev is rightly called the father of rocket science, who went down in history as the one who figured out how to overcome gravity and was able to create the first manned spacecraft. Today, even kids know in what year the first ship with a person on board was launched, but few people remember Korolev’s contribution to this process.

The crew and their safety during the flight

The main task today is the safety of the crew, because they spend a lot of time at flight altitude. When building a flying device, it is important what metal it is made from. The following types of metals are used in rocket science:

1. Aluminum allows you to significantly increase the size of the spacecraft, since it is lightweight.
2. Iron copes remarkably well with all loads on the ship’s hull.
3. Copper has high thermal conductivity.
4. Silver reliably binds copper and steel.
5. Tanks for liquid oxygen and hydrogen are made from titanium alloys.

A modern life support system allows you to create an atmosphere familiar to a person. Many boys see themselves flying in space, forgetting about the very large overload of the astronaut at launch.

The largest spaceship in the world

Among warships, fighters and interceptors are very popular. A modern cargo ship has the following classification:

1. The probe is a research ship.
2. Capsule - cargo compartment for delivery or rescue operations of the crew.
3. The module is launched into orbit by an unmanned carrier. Modern modules are divided into 3 categories.
4. Rocket. The prototype for the creation was military developments.
5. Shuttle - reusable structures for delivering the necessary cargo.
6. Stations are the largest spaceships. Today, not only Russians are in outer space, but also French, Chinese and others.

Buran - a spaceship that went down in history

The first spacecraft to go into space was Vostok. Afterwards, the USSR Rocket Science Federation began producing Soyuz spacecraft. Much later, Clippers and Russ began to be produced. The federation has great hopes for all these manned projects.

In 1960, the Vostok spacecraft proved the possibility of manned space travel. On April 12, 1961, Vostok 1 orbited the Earth. But the question of who flew on the Vostok 1 ship for some reason causes difficulty. Maybe the fact is that we simply don’t know that Gagarin made his first flight on this ship? In the same year, the Vostok 2 spacecraft went into orbit for the first time, carrying two cosmonauts at once, one of whom went beyond the ship in space. It was progress. And already in 1965, Voskhod 2 was able to go into outer space. The story of the ship Voskhod 2 was filmed.

Vostok 3 set a new world record for the time a ship spent in space. The last ship in the series was Vostok 6.

The American Apollo series shuttle opened new horizons. After all, in 1968, Apollo 11 was the first to land on the Moon. Today there are several projects to develop spaceplanes of the future, such as Hermes and Columbus.

Salyut is a series of interorbital space stations of the Soviet Union. Salyut 7 is famous for being a wreck.

The next spacecraft whose history is of interest is Buran, by the way, I wonder where it is now. In 1988 he made his first and last flight. After repeated dismantling and transportation, Buran's route of movement was lost. The known last location of the spacecraft Buranv Sochi, work on it is mothballed. However, the storm around this project has not yet subsided, and the further fate of the abandoned Buran project is of interest to many. And in Moscow, an interactive museum complex has been created inside a model of the Buran spaceship at VDNKh.

Gemini is a series of ships designed by American designers. They replaced the Mercury project and were able to make a spiral in orbit.

American ships called Space Shuttle became a kind of shuttles, making more than 100 flights between objects. The second Space Shuttle was Challenger.

One cannot help but be interested in the history of the planet Nibiru, which is recognized as a supervisory ship. Nibiru has already approached the Earth at a dangerous distance twice, but both times a collision was avoided.

Dragon is a spacecraft that was supposed to fly to the planet Mars in 2018. In 2014, the federation, citing the technical characteristics and condition of the Dragon ship, postponed the launch. Not long ago, another event occurred: the Boeing company made a statement that it had also begun development of a Mars rover.

The first universal reusable spacecraft in history was to be an apparatus called Zarya. Zarya is the first development of a reusable transport ship, on which the federation had very high hopes.

The possibility of using nuclear installations in space is considered a breakthrough. For these purposes, work has begun on a transport and energy module. In parallel, development is underway on the Prometheus project, a compact nuclear reactor for rockets and spacecraft.

China's Shenzhou 11 launched in 2016 with two astronauts expected to spend 33 days in space.

Spacecraft speed (km/h)

The minimum speed with which one can enter orbit around the Earth is considered to be 8 km/s. Today there is no need to develop the world's fastest ship, since we are at the very beginning of outer space. After all, the maximum height that we could reach in space is only 500 km. The record for the fastest movement in space was set in 1969, and so far it has not been broken. On the Apollo 10 spacecraft, three astronauts, having orbited the Moon, were returning home. The capsule that was supposed to deliver them from the flight managed to reach a speed of 39.897 km/h. For comparison, let's look at how fast the space station is traveling. It can reach a maximum speed of 27,600 km/h.

Abandoned spaceships

Today, a cemetery in the Pacific Ocean has been created for spaceships that have fallen into disrepair, where dozens of abandoned spaceships can find their final refuge. Spaceship disasters

Disasters happen in space, often taking lives. The most common, oddly enough, are accidents that occur due to collisions with space debris. When a collision occurs, the object's orbit shifts and causes crash and damage, often resulting in an explosion. The most famous disaster is the death of the American manned spacecraft Challenger.

Nuclear propulsion for spacecraft 2017

Today, scientists are working on projects to create a nuclear electric motor. These developments involve the conquest of space using photonic engines. Russian scientists plan to begin testing a thermonuclear engine in the near future.

Spaceships of Russia and the USA

Rapid interest in space arose during the Cold War between the USSR and the USA. American scientists recognized their Russian colleagues as worthy rivals. Soviet rocketry continued to develop, and after the collapse of the state, Russia became its successor. Of course, the spacecraft that Russian cosmonauts fly on are significantly different from the first ships. Moreover, today, thanks to the successful developments of American scientists, spaceships have become reusable.

Spaceships of the future

Today, projects that will allow humanity to travel longer are of increasing interest. Modern developments are already preparing ships for interstellar expeditions.

Place from where spaceships are launched

Seeing a spacecraft launch at the launch pad with your own eyes is the dream of many. This may be due to the fact that the first launch does not always lead to the desired result. But thanks to the Internet, we can see the ship take off. Given the fact that those watching the launch of a manned spacecraft should be quite far away, we can imagine that we are on the take-off pad.

Spaceship: what is it like inside?

Today, thanks to museum exhibits, we can see with our own eyes the structure of ships such as the Soyuz. Of course, the first ships were very simple from the inside. The interior of more modern options is designed in soothing colors. The structure of any spaceship necessarily frightens us with many levers and buttons. And this adds pride to those who were able to remember how the ship works, and, moreover, learned to control it.

What spaceships are they flying on now?

New spaceships with their appearance confirm that science fiction has become reality. Today, no one will be surprised by the fact that spacecraft docking is a reality. And few people remember that the first such docking in the world took place back in 1967...

A reusable spacecraft means a device whose design allows the entire ship or its main parts to be reused. The first experience in this area was the Space Shuttle. Then the task of creating a similar device was assigned to Soviet scientists, as a result of which Buran appeared.

Other devices are also being designed in both countries. At the moment, the most notable example of projects of this type is the partially reusable Falcon 9 from SpaceX with a returnable first stage.

Today we’ll talk about why such projects were developed, how they showed themselves in terms of efficiency, and what prospects this area of ​​astronautics has.

The history of the space shuttle began in 1967, before the first manned flight under the Apollo program. On October 30, 1968, NASA approached American space companies with a proposal to develop a reusable space system in order to reduce the cost of each launch and each kilogram of payload put into orbit.

Several projects were proposed to the government, but each of them cost at least five billion US dollars, so Richard Nixon rejected them. NASA's plans were extremely ambitious: the project involved the operation of an orbital station, to and from which shuttles would constantly transport payloads. The shuttles also had to launch and return satellites from orbit, maintain and repair satellites in orbit, and conduct manned missions.

The final requirements for the ship looked like this:

• Cargo compartment 4.5x18.2 meters
• Possibility of horizontal maneuver over 2000 km (aircraft maneuver in a horizontal plane)
• Payload capacity 30 tons to low Earth orbit, 18 tons to polar orbit

The solution was to create a shuttle, the investment in which would pay off by putting satellites into orbit on a commercial basis. For the success of the project, it was important to minimize the cost of putting each kilogram of cargo into orbit. In 1969, the creator of the project talked about reducing the cost to 40-100 US dollars per kilogram, while for Saturn-V this figure was 2000 dollars.

To launch into space, the shuttles used two solid rocket boosters and three of their own propulsion engines. Solid rocket boosters were separated at an altitude of 45 kilometers, then splashed down into the ocean, repaired and reused. The main engines use liquid hydrogen and oxygen in an external fuel tank, which was discarded at an altitude of 113 kilometers, after which it partially burned in the atmosphere.

The first prototype of the Space Shuttle was the Enterprise, named after the ship from the Star Trek series. The ship was checked for aerodynamics and tested for its ability to land while gliding. Columbia was the first to go into space on April 12, 1981. In fact, this was also a test launch, although there was a crew of two astronauts on board: commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen. Then everything worked out well. Unfortunately, this particular shuttle crashed in 2003 with seven crew members on its 28th launch. The Challenger had the same fate - it survived 9 launches, and crashed on the tenth. 7 crew members were killed.

Although NASA planned for 24 launches annually in 1985, during the 30 years the shuttles were in service, they took off and returned 135 times. Two of them were unsuccessful. The record holder for the number of launches was the Discovery shuttle - it survived 39 launches. Atlantis withstood 33 launches, Columbia - 28, Endeavor - 25 and Challenger - 10.

Challenger, 1983

The shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor were used to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and Mir.

The cost of delivering cargo into orbit in the case of the Space Shuttle turned out to be the highest in the history of astronautics. Each launch cost from 500 million to 1.3 billion dollars, each kilogram - from 13 to 17 thousand dollars. For comparison, a disposable Soyuz launch vehicle is capable of launching cargo into space at a price of up to 25 thousand dollars per kilogram. The Space Shuttle program was planned to be self-sustaining, but in the end it became one of the most unprofitable.

Shuttle Atlantis, ready for Expedition STS-129 to deliver equipment, materials and spare parts to the International Space Station. November 2009

The last flight of the Space Shuttle program took place in 2011. On July 21 of that year, Atlantis returned to Earth. The final landing of Atlantis marked the end of an era. Read more about what was planned and what happened in the Space Shuttle program in this article.

The USSR decided that the characteristics of the Space Shuttle made it possible to steal Soviet satellites or an entire space station from orbit: the shuttle could launch 29.5 tons of cargo into orbit and release 14.5 tons. Taking into account plans for 60 launches per year, this is 1,770 tons annually, although at that time the United States did not send even 150 tons into space per year. The release was supposed to be 820 tons per year, although nothing was usually released from orbit. Drawings and photos of the shuttle suggested that an American ship could attack the USSR with nuclear weapons from any point in near-Earth space, being out of radio visibility.

To protect against a possible attack, a modernized 23-mm NR-23 automatic cannon was installed at the Salyut and Almaz stations. And in order to keep up with their American brothers in militarized space, the Union began developing an orbital rocket ship of the Buran reusable space system.

Development of the reusable space system began in April 1973. The idea itself had many supporters and opponents. The head of the Ministry of Defense Institute for Military Space played it safe and made two reports at once - in favor and against the program, and both of these reports ended up on the desk of D. F. Ustinov, the USSR Minister of Defense. He contacted Valentin Glushko, responsible for the program, but he sent his employee at Energomash, Valery Burdakov, to the meeting in his place. After a conversation about the military capabilities of the Space Shuttle and its Soviet counterpart, Ustinov prepared a decision that gave the development of a reusable spacecraft the highest priority. The NPO Molniya, created for this purpose, began creating the ship.

The tasks of "Buran" according to the plan of the USSR Ministry of Defense were: countering the measures of a potential enemy to expand the use of outer space for military purposes, solving problems in the interests of defense, the national economy and science, conducting military applied research and experiments using weapons on known and new physical principles , as well as launching into orbit, servicing and returning spacecraft, astronauts and cargo to earth.

Unlike NASA, which risked the crew during the first manned flight of the shuttle, Buran made its first flight automatically using an on-board computer based on the IBM System/370. On November 15, 1988, the launch took place; the Energia launch vehicle launched the spacecraft into low-Earth orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The ship made two orbits around the Earth and landed at the Yubileiny airfield.

During landing, an incident occurred that showed how smart the automatic system turned out to be. At an altitude of 11 kilometers, the ship made a sharp maneuver and described a loop with a 180-degree turn - that is, it landed, entering from the other end of the landing strip. The automation made this decision after receiving data on the storm wind in order to take the most advantageous trajectory.

Automatic mode was one of the main differences from the shuttle. In addition, the shuttles landed with the engine inoperative and were unable to land several times. To save the crew, Buran provided a catapult for the first two pilots. In fact, designers from the USSR copied the configuration of the shuttles, which they did not deny, but they made a number of extremely useful innovations from the point of view of vehicle control and crew safety.

Unfortunately, the first flight of the Buran was the last. In 1990, work was suspended, and in 1993, it was completely closed.

As sometimes happens with objects of national pride, version 2.01 “Baikal”, which they wanted to send into space, rotted for many years on the pier of the Khimki Reservoir.

You could touch history in 2011. Moreover, then people could even tear off pieces of the casing and heat-insulating coating from this story. That year, the ship was transported from Khimki to Zhukovsky to be restored and presented at MAKS in a couple of years.

"Buran" from the inside

Delivery of "Buran" from Khimki to Zhukovsky

"Buran" at MAKS, 2011, a month after the start of restoration

Despite the economic inexpediency shown by the Space Shuttle program, the United States decided not to abandon projects to create reusable spacecraft. In 1999, NASA began developing the X-37 drone with Boeing. There are versions according to which the device is intended to test the technologies of future space interceptors capable of disabling other devices. Experts in the United States are inclined to this opinion.

The device made three flights with a maximum duration of 674 days. It is currently on its fourth flight, with a launch date of May 20, 2015.

The Boeing X-37 orbital flying laboratory carries a payload of up to 900 kilograms. Compared to the Space Shuttle and Buran, capable of carrying up to 30 tons during takeoff, Boeing is a baby. But he also has different goals. The minishuttles were pioneered by the Austrian physicist Eugen Senger when he began developing a long-range rocket bomber in 1934. The project was closed, remembering it in 1944, towards the end of World War II, but it was too late to save Germany from defeat with the help of such a bomber. In October 1957, the Americans continued the idea by launching the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.

The X-20 orbital aircraft was capable, after entering a suborbital trajectory, of diving into the atmosphere to an altitude of 40-60 kilometers in order to take a photo or drop a bomb, and then return to space using lift from the wings.

The project was abandoned in 1963 in favor of the civilian Gemini program and the military MOL orbital station project.

Titan launch vehicles to launch the X-20 into orbit

X-20 layout

In the USSR, in 1969, they began to build “BOR” - an unmanned orbital rocket plane. The first launch was carried out without thermal protection, which is why the device burned out. The second rocket plane crashed due to parachutes not opening after successful braking into the atmosphere. In the next five launches, only once did the BOR fail to enter orbit. Despite the loss of the devices, each new launch brought important data for further development. With the help of BOR-4, thermal protection for the future Buran was tested in the 1980s.

As part of the Spiral program, for which the BOR was built, it was planned to develop a booster aircraft that would rise to a height of 30 kilometers at speeds of up to 6 speeds of sound in order to launch the orbital vehicle into orbit. This part of the program did not take place. The Ministry of Defense demanded an analogue of the American shuttle, so they sent forces to the Buran.

BOR-4

BOR-4

If the Soviet "Buran" was partially copied from the American "Space Shuttle", then in the case of the "Dream Chaser" everything happened exactly the opposite: the abandoned "BOR" project, namely the rocket plane of the "BOR-4" version, became the basis for the creation reusable spacecraft from SpaceDev. Rather, Space Chaser is based on a copied HL-20 orbital plane.

Work on the Dream Runner began in 2004, and in 2007, SpaceDev agreed with the United Launch Alliance to use Atlas 5 rockets to launch. The first successful tests in a wind tunnel took place in 2012. The first flight prototype was dropped from a helicopter from a height of 3.8 kilometers on October 26, 2013.

According to the designers' plans, the cargo version of the ship will be able to deliver up to 5.5 tons to the International Space Station and return up to 1.75 tons.

The Germans began to develop their own version of a reusable system in 1985 - the project was called “Zenger”. In 1995, after the development of the engine, the project was closed, since it would have provided a benefit of only 10-30% compared to the European Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

Aircraft HL-20

"Dream Chaser"

To replace the disposable Soyuz, Russia began to develop the multi-purpose Clipper spacecraft in 2000. The system became an intermediate link between the winged shuttles and the Soyuz ballistic capsule. In 2005, in order to cooperate with the European Space Agency, a new version was presented - the winged Clipper.

The device can put 6 people and up to 700 kilograms of cargo into orbit, that is, it is twice as good as the Soyuz in these parameters. At the moment there is no information that the project is ongoing. Instead, the news is talking about a new reusable ship - the Federation.

Multipurpose spacecraft "Clipper"

The manned transport ship "Federation" should replace the manned "Soyuz" and "Progress" trucks. It is planned to be used, among other things, for a flight to the Moon. The first launch is planned for 2019. In autonomous flight, the device will be able to remain for up to 40 days, and when docked from an orbital station, it will be able to operate for up to 1 year. At the moment, the development of preliminary and technical designs has been completed, and working documentation for the creation of the first stage ship is being developed.

The system consists of two main modules: the reentry vehicle and the propulsion compartment. The work will use ideas that were previously used for Clipper. The ship will be able to carry up to 6 people into orbit and up to 4 people to the Moon.

Parameters of the "Federation" device

One of the most noticeable reusable projects in the media at the moment is the development of SpaceX - the Dragon V2 transport ship and the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

Falcon 9 is a partially re-entry vehicle. The launch vehicle consists of two stages, the first of which has a system for return and vertical landing on the landing pad. The last launch was not successful - an accident occurred on September 1, 2016.

The reusable Dragon V2 manned spacecraft is now being prepared for safety testing for astronauts. In 2017, they plan to carry out an unmanned launch of the device on a Falcon 9 rocket.

Reusable manned spacecraft Dragon V2

In preparation for the flight of the expedition to Mars, the United States developed a reusable Orion spacecraft. The ship's assembly was completed in 2014. The first unmanned flight of the device took place on December 5, 2014 and was successful. Now NASA is preparing for further launches, including crewed ones.

Aviation, as a rule, involves the reusable use of aircraft. In the future, spacecraft will have to have the same property, but to achieve this, a number of problems will have to be solved, including economic ones. Each launch of a reusable ship should be cheaper than building a disposable one. It is necessary to use materials and technologies that will allow the devices to be restarted after minimal repairs, and ideally without repairs at all. Perhaps spaceships in the future will have both the characteristics of a rocket and an airplane.

One of the space sensations of MAKS is a new manned spacecraft: a full-scale design and layout model of its return vehicle was presented for the first time at the air show. The President and General Designer of RSC Energia named after A.N. told an RG correspondent about what the new “starship” will be like. S.P. Queen, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vitaly Lopota.

Vitaly Alexandrovich, what is the new ship?

Vitaly Lopota: It is different from the current Soyuz. The launch weight of the ship when flying to the Moon is about 20 tons, when flying to a station in low Earth orbit - about 14 tons. The ship's regular crew is four people, including two cosmonaut pilots. The dimensions of the return vehicle are about 4 meters in length (height), excluding the deployed landing legs, and the maximum diameter is about 4.5 meters. The length of the entire ship is about 6 meters, the transverse size of the deployed solar panels is about 14 meters.

Is the model of the return vehicle close to the “real” one?

Vitaly Lopota: I will say this: it is close to the standard product. After all, what is the purpose of the layout? Check and work out technical solutions for the placement and installation of instruments and equipment, the interior of the pressurized cabin, ensuring flight safety, ergonomics, convenience and comfort for the accommodation and work of the crew. MAX visitors will be able to compare this model with the descent module of the modern Soyuz TMA spacecraft that returned from space (height about 2.2 meters, maximum diameter about 2.2 meters).

At what stage is work on the new ship project today?

Vitaly Lopota: Everything is going according to schedule. The examination of the ship's technical design has been completed. At a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council of Roscosmos, the project was approved. Now the next step is the release of working documentation and the production of material parts, including mock-ups for experimental testing and a standard product for flight testing.

How is our ship different from, say, American “pilots”?

Vitaly Lopota: Of the American ships being created, the Dragon and Orion are the most ready. In the near future, the cargo Cygnus may join them. The Dragon spacecraft is intended only for servicing the ISS. Due to the fact that space technologies for solving this problem have been sufficiently developed, Dragon was created relatively quickly and has already made several flights in an unmanned cargo version.

The tasks for the Orion spacecraft are more ambitious than those of the Dragon spacecraft, and in many respects coincide with the tasks of the Russian spacecraft being created: the main purpose of the Orion spacecraft is flights beyond near-Earth orbits. Both of these American ships and the new Russian ship have similar layouts. These ships consist of a capsule-type reentry vehicle and an engine compartment.

Is the similarity coincidental?

Vitaly Lopota: Of course not. This is a consequence of the unity of views of American and Russian specialists on ensuring maximum reliability and safety of flights at the existing level of technology.

Tell me, what changes have been made to the project in connection with the manned flight to the Moon?

Vitaly Lopota: The main change is related to the need to ensure the thermal conditions of the reentry vehicle when entering the atmosphere at the second escape velocity. If previously calculations were made for a speed of about 8 km/sec, now - at 11 km/sec. The new requirement for the flight mission led to a change in the thermal protection of the device. In addition, to ensure the ship's flight to the Moon, new navigation instruments, a propulsion system with two main engines with a thrust of 2 tons each and an increased fuel supply are installed on it. Onboard radio systems will ensure the ship's communications up to a range of approximately 500 thousand kilometers. It should be noted that when flying in low Earth orbits, the altitudes of which are no more than 500 kilometers, the radio communication range is two to three orders of magnitude less.

Is it true that an option for collecting space debris is being developed?

Vitaly Lopota: The ship is designed for flights to the Moon, transport and technical maintenance of near-Earth orbital stations, as well as for conducting scientific research during an autonomous flight in low-Earth orbit. The program of such research will be developed by the country's leading scientific organizations. It may also include issues of space debris disposal. But in general this is a separate task that requires appropriate detailed study.

Will the new ship be able to fly to Mars and asteroids?

Vitaly Lopota: It is possible that the ship will be used for transport and technical maintenance of interplanetary expeditionary complexes, delivering crews to them and returning them to Earth when these complexes are in low-Earth orbits. Including tall ones.

Will the new ship be more comfortable for the crew than the Soyuz?

Vitaly Lopota: Undoubtedly. Just this example: the free volume of the return vehicle per cosmonaut will almost double compared to the Soyuz!

When will ground testing of ship models begin?

Vitaly Lopota: Already next year, after concluding a state contract with RSC Energia for the production of working documentation.

What new materials and technologies will be used to create the new ship?

Vitaly Lopota: The ship's design contains many innovative materials: aluminum alloys with 1.2-1.5 times increased strength, heat-shielding materials with a density that is 3 times less than those used on Soyuz TMA ships, carbon fiber reinforced plastics and three-layer structures, laser means ensuring docking and mooring, etc. The return vehicle of the ship is created reusable as a result of the implementation of adopted technical solutions, including through vertical landing on landing supports.

Have specialists abandoned the development of winged spaceships completely? What are the advantages of a load-bearing hull?

Vitaly Lopota: The creation of the ship according to the “capsule” design is determined by the technical specifications of Roscosmos. At the same time, after the end of the Shuttle program, the “winged” theme is again actively developing in the United States and several countries around the world (for example, in the United States, the unmanned X-37B spacecraft carried out several months-long flights in low-Earth orbit). In this regard, RSC Energia does not exclude the possibility of continuing work on “winged” topics in the future.

A serious study of the “load-bearing hull” scheme was carried out at RSC Energia on instructions from Roscosmos within the framework of the “Clipper” theme. Potential advantages of the "carrying body" include greater lateral maneuver during deorbit than a capsule, as well as slightly lower levels of g-forces. However, the “payment” for this is the design complexity associated with the need to have aerodynamic control surfaces in addition to the jet control system, as well as the difficulty of ensuring braking in the Earth’s atmosphere upon entry at escape velocity 2. At the same time, the “load-bearing body,” like the capsule, needs a parachute-jet landing system.

How many ships will be built and when might the first launch of such a ship take place?

Vitaly Lopota: We assume that it is sufficient to build five return vehicles, taking into account their reusability and the intended flight program. The ship's engine compartment is disposable, so it will be manufactured separately for each flight. If appropriate funding is available, the first unmanned development launch could take place in 2018.

What will the new ship be called?

Vitaly Lopota: The name is currently being selected. Everyone can propose their own option, of which the most successful one will subsequently be accepted.

There are calls to reconsider the budget for Russian manned space exploration. They say that too much is spent on it - up to 40-50 percent of the Roscosmos budget. Your opinion?

Vitaly Lopota: Spending on manned space flight is an “investment in the future”, available only to the most developed countries in the world. In addition, let's take a closer look: if we compare the Russian and American budgets for manned programs, ours is an order of magnitude smaller. Moreover, Russia’s expenses in this regard are inferior not only to the total expenses of various US departments, but also to the expenses of Western European countries. However, manned astronautics is not only about launches and flights of manned spacecraft and stations. This is largely also the maintenance of ground-based space infrastructure in an operational, highly reliable state and its operation. This is the maintenance and development of rocket and production technologies. This is research, design and exploration work to ensure the effective implementation of existing and the formation of future space programs, including fundamental work that is applied in other areas of human activity.

For example, many of the results of the work of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, obtained in solving the problems of ensuring long-term human flights into space, are used to treat diseases and postoperative rehabilitation of patients. Therefore, if we analyze everything, then the “net” share of manned cosmonautics in Russia’s total space budget is no more than 15 percent.

It’s always easy to brake, and our competitors will only say “thank you.” Moreover, in Russia, manned astronautics already brings considerable foreign currency to the budget: it is the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that ensures the delivery of foreign astronauts to the ISS and their subsequent return to Earth.

business card

Vitaly Aleksandrovich Lopota heads the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after S.P. Korolev since July 2007, now being its president and general designer. He is also the technical director for flight testing of manned space systems and deputy chairman of the State Commission for such tests.

Born in 1950 in Grozny. He graduated from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute (LPI, now a university) and graduate school there. There, as a junior researcher, his career as a researcher and scientist began: he headed the department, an industry research laboratory, and the Center for Laser Technology. In 1991, he became director and chief designer of the Central Research and Development Institute of Robotics and Technical Cybernetics (CNII RTK).

With his arrival at RSC Energia, the corporation's work aimed at creating automatic space systems and world-class launch vehicles received impetus. For Russian and foreign customers, promising developments of specialized satellites based on a universal space platform are underway. A new generation of rocket and space complexes are being developed, including the ultra-light class, based on the enterprise’s groundwork on the topic “Energia-Buran” and others. The project of a transport space module with a nuclear power plant is being implemented.

V.A. Lopota is a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Technical Sciences. He has over 200 scientific papers, about 60 patents for inventions. He is a member of the Presidential Council on Science, Technology and Education, as well as the Council of General and Chief Designers.

Designed for human flight into outer space. A distinctive feature of the spacecraft is the presence of a sealed compartment or compartments with a life support system for the astronauts. The spacecraft also has a descent vehicle for landing on planets or for returning the crew to Earth, and systems that allow maneuvering in orbit for rendezvous and docking with other spacecraft and orbital stations. Domestic spacecraft were created and carried out space flights " East", "Sunrise", " Union", as well as the American "Mercury", "Gemini", "Apollo".

Encyclopedia "Technology". - M.: Rosman. 2006 .

See what a “spaceship” is in other dictionaries:

A spacecraft (SV) is a technical device used to perform various tasks in outer space, as well as conduct research and other types of work on the surface of various celestial bodies. Delivery means... ... Wikipedia

Starship Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova. 2011. spaceship noun, number of synonyms: 3 starship ... Synonym dictionary

Spaceship- Spaceship: a man-made vehicle designed to be launched beyond the main part of the Earth's atmosphere... Source:<РЕГЛАМЕНТ РАДИОСВЯЗИ>(Extract) ... Official terminology

spaceship- 104 spaceship; KKr: A manned spacecraft capable of maneuvering in the atmosphere and outer space with a return to a given area and (or) descent and landing on a planet. Source: GOST R 53802 2010: Systems and... ... Dictionary-reference book of terms of normative and technical documentation

spaceship- erdvėlaivis statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: engl. astrovehicle; space ship; space vehicle vok. kosmisches Schiff, n; Raumschiff, n; Weltraumfahrzeug, n rus. spaceship, m pranc. cosmonef, m; vaisseau spatial, m; véhicule spatial, m … Fizikos terminų žodynas

A spacecraft designed for human flight (manned spacecraft). A distinctive feature of the cosmonaut is the presence of a sealed cabin with a life support system for astronauts. K.K. for flight on... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (SC) manned spacecraft. A distinctive feature of manned spacecraft is the presence of a pressurized cabin with a life support system for astronauts. CC for geocentric flight. orbits called ships as satellites, and for flights to other celestial ... Big Encyclopedic Polytechnic Dictionary

Spacecraft (SC)- manned spacecraft. A distinction is made between spacecraft satellites and interplanetary spacecraft. It has a sealed cabin with a life support system, on-board motion and descent control systems, a propulsion system, power supply systems, etc. Removal of spacecraft... ... Glossary of military terms

Spaceship- 1. A man-made vehicle designed to be launched beyond the main part of the Earth's atmosphere. Used in the document: ITU 2007 ... Telecommunications dictionary

Spacecraft "Voskhod-1"- Voskhod 1 three-seater spaceship. It was launched into orbit on October 12, 1964. The crew consisted of the ship's commander Vladimir Komarov, researcher Konstantin Feoktistov and doctor Boris Egorov. Voskhod 1 was created at OKB 1 (now... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

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