What Russia will fly to the moon



    Recently, the lunar topic often pops up in the news. Either we fly to the moon , then we don’t fly , then we fly again , then we don’t again ... At the same time, in the depths of the Russian Space Agency, they are gradually preparing technical equipment for the future flight. At the air show MAKS-2015 showed several developments, without which such a flight would be impossible.



    First, the difference between unmanned and manned missions should be noted. In unmanned mode, flying to the moon is almost the simplest and cheapest thing that can be done in interplanetary space. In the next 10 years, it is planned to launch three automatic stations to the moon: two landing and one orbital. In addition to performing scientific tasks, these devices should give experience in the implementation of lunar missions to a new generation of engineers. The previous moon landing was in 1976, when a significant part of modern space specialists had not yet been born. Therefore, they need to gain experience in deep space and on the surface of the moon.

    The first flight, it seems, is promised for 2019, and, it would seem, it will be the Luna-25 (Luna-Globe) lander. “It seems to be” because the Federal Space Program 2015-2025 has not yet been approved, and it is not known what changes will be made there, and what will happen in the end.

    In any case, at the MAKS-2015 air show, the developer of the "Moon-25" NGO named after S.A. Lavochkina, put up a full-size model of the lunar apparatus and the Frigate upper stage .



    Perhaps the NPOL stand, from space, was the most spectacular at the air show. Frankly, I did not expect such a degree of readiness from Luna-25. The composition of scientific equipment and its location have already been determined.







    They even made an intake device, although I thought that they would do without a manipulator,



    It’s a pity they didn’t make a camera on the mast so that a spherical panorama could be created , such as that obtained by the Chinese Chang'e 3.



    It is hoped that the unmanned lunar program will remain unchanged for the next decade, and at least three planned devices will make their flight .

    But the manned lunar program is unlucky. As in the time of the Queen, she remains an extremely expensive enterprise, which, in general, is unclear why.

    The first to go under the knife, never having been born, was an extra-heavy rocket. They talked about her for a year, but they forgot. Then honestly admitted - there is no money for it. It would seem that without a superheavy rocket, the moon could not be reached, but the multi- launch scheme came to the rescue .



    Instead of launching one missile with a carrying capacity of one hundred tons, they suggested launching four missiles per thirty tons. The multi-start circuit has long been offered by both science-fiction and constructors. It would seem that it is simpler: launch a rocket after a rocket and build a large ship little by little, like the ISS built, for example. But behind the apparent simplicity lies a whole bag of pitfalls: all launches will need to be carried out in strict sequence, no delays due to snow, snowstorm or debris in the fuel lineunacceptable, otherwise the launch windows will crawl. Low Earth orbit is characterized by a decelerating effect of the atmosphere, so the orbit will constantly degrade, and in an unpredictable way, and corrections will have to be made to all launch programs ... There is still a problem that was not known in the 70s - space debris. The ISS already regularly, every 3-4 months, shies away from large pieces, and now the ships have to do this during a two-day flight .

    And if at least on one rocket something goes wrong? All bury the entire program?

    Therefore, Roscosmos was the first to undertake a long-range space program using a multi-launch scheme. And this decision comes from poverty - with the current budgets (more precisely, the budgets of the spring of 2015), Russian cosmonauts will not be able to get to the moon otherwise. And 2 rockets are just a flyby. Landing on the moon will require four rockets.

    In fairness, it is worth noting that now Russian specialists have accumulated a wealth of experience in connecting in orbit, in automatic and manual modes. The Angara rocket proved to be an unpretentious device, which does not care about the weather. So part of the negative factors can be discarded.

    The "moon rocket" should be created on the basis of the "Angara-A5", by adding an oxygen-hydrogen booster block KVTK.



    Let me remind you that the number in the name of "Hangar" is the number of modular accelerators of the first stage. Previously, it was assumed that the most powerful option would be Angara-A7, but they abandoned it, because she demanded a separate launch pad. They decided to do without the "seven" by adding one hydrogen step to the "five". This stage will be KVTK. Together with it, the rocket will be called "Angara-A5v", i.e. "hydrogen".

    UPD: For “A5v”, not only CTWC is needed, but also a separate third hydrogen stage, before which it is still unknown how many.



    Unfortunately, at the booth GNPTs im. Khrunichev’s model of a hydrogen rocket was shown only on the "business day" of the forum, and ordinary visitors like me got only a simple "five"



    “Hydrogen” is almost one and a half times higher, apparently the organizers decided that the crowds of fans of lunar expansion will demolish a less stable layout, and removed it away.

    While the CTC is in development, according to the April 2015 plans, it should be ready by 2020, but cutting funding for the lunar program may postpone this date.

    But RSC Energia, the developer of the manned spacecraft PTK NP (Manned Transport Vehicle of a New Generation), was pleased. At the corporation's stand, one could see important elements of a future lunar mission.



    A large model of the "pepelats" on the legs showed two years ago. Despite this, space fans crowded around the entrance stairs all day, hoping to peek through the hatch. Only the most fanatical ones were allowed inside - they were distinguished by their cap and height of no more than a meter.

    At the end of the day, with the gracious consent of the Energia employees, I managed to put my hand with the camera into the salon and take a panorama.



    The appearance of the cabin inside is exactly what it is supposed to equip a real ship. Of course, in the flight configuration, all free space will be occupied by the payload and additional equipment.

    Another line was lined up with the real Soyuz-TMA 13 spacecraft returning from space on April 8, 2009. More precisely, his descent capsule. Through the porthole I managed to look into the ship and see the untouched interior, which remained after landing.





    Although, to see the most interesting, it was necessary to look in the other direction.



    Few people paid attention to the large black "can", which occupied a fair share of the Energia booth, while this was perhaps the main "dark horse" of the entire 2015 air show.



    These strange Russians, who turned everything upside down more than once, again acted contrary to world space experience, and made a carbon fiber spaceship!

    Seriously, Energia abandoned the metal in creating the supporting rigid hull of the spacecraft, and intends to make a "carbon frame" not only to the ships, but also to the modules of future space stations. About this product, one can say “innovation” without irony, and “has no world analogues”. In the world now 5 state and one private spacecraft are being created, and only the Russian one is carbon fiber.



    The reason for this decision is the desire to ease the load. This ship can be lifted and carried by four people! Well, okay, not a ship, but only this capsule. Then life support systems, thermal and radiation protection, engines and fuel, control systems, and four seat-cradle seats for the crew are hung on it, and the ship will again become unbearable.



    And what a scene would be:
    - Hooray, we sat down!
    - Well! Now we unload, have a bite, and carried it, carried it to Baikonur ...

    Yes, the ship will be reusable. At least the habitable capsule should fly off at least ten times. A tender has now been announced to choose the name of the ship .



    The good news ends here, and the harsh truth of life begins. We must pay tribute to the employees of Roscosmos, they did not hide the fact that the exhibited carbon fiber sample was produced by order in Germany. In Russia, there was no production of carbon fiber of such high quality.



    The exposed layout is fully consistent with the flight model, but will not fly into space. He has to go through numerous trials on earth. In Germany, three more cases for ground tests should be produced. At the same time, Energia is preparing to purchase a production line from the same manufacturer. After that, the Russians will produce four more hulls, and also test them ... And only after that a flight capsule will be created, which will become the basis of the future promising new generation ship.

    Considering the speed with which advanced developments are traditionally carried out and implemented in Roscosmos, we can say that if the PTK NP really does fly at least in near-Earth flight in 2021, it will be a miracle. And not in the sense of the “miracle of engineering” (which is certainly true), but in the sense of “Bilbo, where did you get this ring from?”

    Although, they promise to launch the ship even earlier - in 2019. Maybe Harry Potter really squeezed his wand out? ..

    To reach the moon, one more miracle is required - to create a lunar lander module, which has not existed yet, and it seems that there will not be another 10 years at least. Therefore, I sincerely hope that at least one of the “masters with a cap” who looked into the ship at the last MAKS someday will leave its mark in the lunar regolith.

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