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With the disintegration of the USSR in 1991, developers of the Soyuz rocket, along with the rest of the nation's space industry, looked to consolidate its subcontractor network inside the Russian Federation. To accomplish the goal, TsSKB Progress in the city of Samara, developed a new version of its workhorse Soyuz launcher, under research and development plan known as Rus. The future three-stage 313-ton base vehicle could be used in combination with Ikar and Fregat upper stages. Soyuz-2 production cooperation:
Soyuz-2 payload delivery capabilities (in kilograms):
According to the original plan, the Soyuz-2 (industrial designation 14A14, also known as Soyuz-2K and Soyuz-M) would sport a brand new RD-0124 (14D23) closed-cycle engine on its third stage and all-digital flight control system with terminal guidance system. The first and second stage would be equipped with 14D21 and 14D22 engines with improved injection system. All the upgrades combined would increase the payload of the vehicle by 1,200 kilogram in comparison with the base launcher. Prospective payloads If launched from Baikonur, the Soyuz-2 would be capable of delivering 8,500 kilograms into the low-Earth orbit and 2,350 kilograms toward the Moon. The Soyuz-2 could also fly from slightly upgraded launch pad in Plesetsk and from newly developed launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana. Launches from French Guiana could deliver as much as 9,000-9,200 kilograms to the low orbit. The Soyuz-2 could be employed to launch a variety of traditional payloads of the Soyuz family, including reconnaissance satellites. Before the rocket could be "man-rated," it was considered as a carrier of the enlarged version of the Progress M1 cargo ships equipped with the assembly and protective block SZB (11S517A2), with the total mass of 8,350 kilograms and maximum diameter of 3,000 millimeters. The Soyuz-2 could also launch prospective modules for the Russian segment of the International Space Station, ISS, with the total mass of 8,100 kilograms, maximum diameter of 3,700 millimeters and the length of 14,100 millimeters. Soyuz-2 development To enable launches of the Soyuz-2 rocket toward the ISS, plans were made to upgrade processing facilities at Site 2 in Baikonur by the year 2000. However, collapsing funding of the Russian space industry during 1999 and 2000 forced Russian space officials to freeze the plans to launch the Soyuz-2 from Baikonur as well as the development of its space station payloads. (164) Financial problems of the industry also pushed the rest of the Rus program nearly a decade behind schedule, forcing developers to introduce upgrades in several phases. Since the development of the new RD-0124 engine was the most expensive and time-consuming part of the upgrade, it was deferred to a later time. At the time of the first Soyuz-2-1a launch in November 2004, Russian space officials said that the next upgrade -- Soyuz-2-1b launch vehicle with the RD-0124 engine -- could fly in 2006. Soyuz-2-1a he initial version of the upgraded vehicle, known as Soyuz-2-1a featured a four-meter payload fairing. It was capable of carrying 300 kilograms more payload thanks to the replacement of the old analog flight control system with a digital computer and the use of more flexible launch trajectory. New flight control system The work on the digital flight control system for the Soyuz-2 rocket started at NPO Avtomatika of Ekaterinburg as early as 1993. The system included three independent processing units and two gyroscopes, which drastically improved the reliablity of the flight control system. In 2006, Lef Belskiy, Deputy Director of NPO Avtomatika for rocket and space systems told ITAR-TASS news agency that the work on the flight control system for the Soyuz-2 became a lifesaver for his organization. At the time, 400 employees of NPO Avtomatika have been involved in this development. Modest federal funding for the project started coming during 1994-1995 and the money flow increased substantially at the beginning of the following decade. RD-0124 engine technical description The RD-0124 engine developed for the Soyuz-2 launcher would have roughly same dimensions (height: 2,327 mm, diameter: 1,470 mm) and the basic design as the veteran RD-0110 engine on the third stage of the previous Soyuz rockets. The main difference would be the introduction of the so-called closed-cycle system, where oxidizer gas used to drive the engine's pumps, would be then directed into combustion chamber, where it would burn with the rest of the propellant, rather then being dumped overboard. Such upgrade would increase the performance of the engine and, as the result, the payload of the launcher by some 950 kilograms. Special ignition propellant is used to activate the combustion of the engine and pyrotechnic devices used to control the engine's work. Each of four combustion chambers can gimbal along a single axis to steer the vehicle. (145) Comparison of RD-0110 and RD-0124 engine performance (120):
RD-0124 engine development Initial tests firings of the RD-0124 engine reportedly started in 1996 and were completed in February 2004 at Khimavtomatika in Voronezh. At the time, representatives of Khimavtomatika were quoted as saying that the mass production of the engine could start as early as 2005. Another test firing (in Voronezh) was conducted on December 27, 2005, clearing the way to full-scale tests of the entire third stage (Block I) of the Soyuz-2-1b rocket at NIIKhimmash facility in Sergiev Posad. Soyuz-2-1b status On January 4, 2005, Arianespace announced that the Soyuz-2-1b vehicle with the new RD-0124 engine would fly its first test mission from Site 31 at Baikonur, launching a 630-kilogram Corot astronomy satellite in a 850-kilometer polar orbit. In January 2006, the launch was expected in September 2006, given successful tests of the RD-0124 engine then planned for March and April 2006. The first test firing did take place on April 5, 2006, at the IS-102 facility of NIIKhimMash center in Sergiev Posad. Another test took place on October 20, 2006, at 17:20 Moscow Time. According to the deputy head of Roskosmos Viktor Ramishevskiy, quoted by RIA Novosti, it was the last test firing of the RD-0124 engine, thus clearing the way for the first launch of the Soyuz-2-1b rocket, then scheduled for December 21, 2006. Soyuz-2 from Kourou The version of the Soyuz-2 vehicle designed to fly from a European launch site in French Guiana also featured some upgrades, including those supplied by European contractors. On June 22, 2006, Frenach company Alcatel Alenia Space announced that it would provide subsystems for the complete safeguard chain of Soyuz-Fregat rockets to be launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou.The contract included the development and manufacturing of the BCA ("Boîtier de Commutation et d'Alimentation", the switching & power feeder unit), as well as electronic ground equipment for tests and the reception of the safeguard subsystem onboard Soyuz-2 rockets. In case of a botched launch, the BCA will ensure the emergency engine shutdown, leaving the vehicle on a ballistic trajectory. Soyuz-2-1b in Plesetsk On March 19, 2008, at 7:00 in the morning, the Soyuz-2-1b rocket was rolled out to the launch pad No. 4 in Plesetsk for dry tests of all launch operations except fueling. The rocket was expected to remain at the site for four days, before rolling back to the processing building. Soyuz-2 missions:
This page is maintained by Anatoly Zak; last update: April 30, 2008 |
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ARCHIVE The four-chamber RD-0110 engine, which was used for several decades on the third stage of the Soyuz family of launchers became the focus of upgrades needed to build the Soyuz-2 launcher. Copyright © 2001 by Anatoly Zak
Fregat upper stages at NPO Lavochkin's testing and checkout station, KIS. The development and test version is on the foreground, a demonstration copy is on the background. Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak
The Soyuz-2 launcher on the refurbished launch pad in Plesetsk in 2004. Credit: Arianespace
The Soyuz-2-1a rocket with the Metop spacecraft on the launch pad at Site 31 in Baikonur on July 14, 2006. Credit: Roskosmos
Soyuz 2-1b rocket with the COROT satellite on the launch pad in Baikonur in December 2006. Credit: CNES/Starsem |
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