Sputnik reports that Roscosmos will devote more than 8 billion rubles ($130.7 million) in additional funding for development of the Oryol (Eagle) beginning next year. The contract with Energia would fund the construction of two Oryol spacecraft. They are designed to replace the Soyuz transport that has been in use since 1967 and allow cosmonauts to perform lunar and deep space missions. The spacecraft was formerly known as Federatsiya (Federation). […]
TAG
“Federation”
Roscosmos boss Dmitry Rogozin meets with Russia’s boss of bosses, President Vladimir Putin. (Credit: Russian President’s Office)
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with Dmitry Rogozin and his team over at Roscosmos. This has been partly due to all the awesome things that are happening elsewhere that keep me busy. And partly due to the fact that Russia’s plans seem to be continuing evolving due to budget cuts to the point to where I’m never quite sure what exactly to take seriously.
The question usually is: yeah, that sounds great, but is there any money for this? I’m lacking in good sources there. And Russian media usually don’t provide enough insights into the program to allow for informed judgments.
With that caveat in mind. TASS has provided another one of its periodic bursts of updates about what Rogozin and company have been up to lately. They are making progress on reusable launch vehicles, a super-heavy booster, a spacecraft that will replace Soyuz, and plans sending cosmonauts and robots to the moon.
Ergonomic testing has been conducted for the new Federation spacecraft. (Credit: RSC Energia)
Russia is moving ahead with a decade-long, $25 billion (1.6 trillion ruble) program to create new super-heavy launch vehicles capable of lifting up to 100 metric tons into low Earth orbit (LEO), Tass reports.
The new boosters, known as Energia-3 and Energia-5, will incorporate technologies and elements of the Soyuz-5 medium-class rocket, which is now under development.
Soyuz-5 is designed to launch Russia’s new crewed spacecraft, Federatsiya (Federation), into Earth orbit. The Energia rockets will be used for lunar missions.
RSC Energia, which is developing the boosters, plans to test the Soyuz-5 rocket from 2022-25. The super-heavy booster would then be tested from 2028-2035 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. (Credit: A. Savin)
MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Today, June 28, 2018, Moscow hosted the scientific and practical conference “The main tasks and prospects for the development of Roscosmos”, at which the General Director of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin announced ten principles on which the State Corporation and enterprises of the industry will operate.
At the event, not only the heads of Roscosmos, but also all the enterprises of the industry gathered, there were altogether more than 250 people. The moderator of the conference was acting. Nikolay Sevastyanov, First Deputy General Director of Roscosmos State Corporation, who outlined the program of the meeting.
Opening speech delivered by Dmitry Rogozin, at the very beginning of which he cited Academician Andrei Sakharov: “Life is an expansion.” He also stressed that the Russian cosmos is the crown of self-identification of our people.
MOSCOW (RSC Energia PR) — Work is performed in compliance with the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation where RSC Energia is identified as the prime contractor of space rocket complex (SRC).
The following enterprises of State Corporation ROSCOSMOS: RSC Progress, FSUE TsENKI, etc. are the work co-executors.
Flight tests of new Russian launch vehicle (LV) Soyuz-5 are planned to be conducted for 2022 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Angara-1.2 launch vehicle on pad at Plesetsk. (Credit: Khrunichev)
By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Back in 1992, the Russian government — newly shone of the republics that made up the old Soviet Union — had a problem. Or rather, lots and lots of problems. Some of them related to space.
Many of the components for the nation’s launch vehicles and space systems were made in the newly independent Ukraine. Its main spaceport was the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the new nation of Kazakhstan. Russia’s independence in space was at risk.
Ergonomic testing has been conducted for the new Federation spacecraft. (Credit: RSC Energia)
RSC Energia has launched the development of a new human spacecraft named Federatsiya (Federation) that will replace the 40-year-old Soyuz vehicles and enable Russia to send cosmonauts to the moon, Tass reports.
Federation will be capable of carrying crews of four into Earth orbit and deep space on missions of up to 30 days. The spacecraft could stay in space up to a year if docked with a space station, which is double the duration of the Soyuz spacecraft.
The new spacecraft could be a key element in what appears to be an emerging plan to place a space station in lunar orbit. NASA is exploring such a facility to test technologies required for sending astronauts to Mars.
MOSCOW (RSC Energia PR) — Rocket and Space Corporation Energia took out a patent for a composite thermal control coating Thermalox, which will become a part of thermal protection package for the reentry vehicle of the new-generation crew transportation spacecraft Federation.
Developers’ analyses show that this unique coating will make it possible to maintain the specified thermal balance and provide electrostatic protection to the spacecraft. Thermal spraying will be used to apply the thermal protection coating to the external surface of the spacecraft.
Ergonomic testing has been conducted for the new Federation spacecraft. (Credit: RSC Energia)
MOSCOW (RSC Energia PR) — The RSC Energia specialists conducted the first tests of the man-machine interface elements on a unique stand for ergonomic testing the Federation manned transport spacecraft of a new generation.
The tests of different information-control formats are made in the scope of these tests for the Federation crew; after the analysis of the test results the decisions on expediency of using one or another of the interface elements in the new spacecraft will be accepted.
MOSCOW (RSC Energia PR) — On Tuesday, January 26, 2016, RSC Energia will be visited by a delegation from the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation “Institute for Biomedical Problems” (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During the visit the President of RSC Energia Vladimir Solntsev and IBMP Director Oleg Orlov are to sign a strategic partnership agreement.