Angara-5's maiden voyage - Russia's new workhorse ?

Capt'n Midnight

If the rumour mill is correct then Russia will be launching this tomorrow

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara5_scenario.html

also http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara5_flight1.html#1215


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angara_%28rocket_family%29#Angara_A5P
as a possible manned launcher it shares one feature with early Soyuz, it's possible to get to orbit in one and a half stages, on the engines that work on the launch pad. Some loss of efficiency but you don't have to worry about engine starts on the way up

Capt'n Midnight

http://spaceflightnow.com/2014/12/23/first-angara-5-rocket-blasts-off-from-russia/

A new Russian rocket designed as a successor to the workhorse Proton booster lifted off Tuesday on a maiden test flight that could signify Russia’s shift away from launching satellites at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

nokia69

not bad, but the Russians could do better they need to think bigger

Capt'n Midnight

nokia69 wrote: »

not bad, but the Russians could do better they need to think bigger

Only Saturn V and Energia carried substantially larger payloads.

Of current launchers only Delta IV heavy can carry more, and only 17% more

Yes there are other heavier US launchers in development but the Russians are well capable of that too.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2014/12/23/first-angara-5-rocket-blasts-off-from-russia/

The Angara 5 can place up to 24.5 metric tons — about 54,000 pounds — into a 120-mile-high orbit. On missions with communications satellites heading for geostationary transfer orbit, an Angara 5 rocket can lift up to 5.4 metric tons, or about 11,900 pounds, according to Khrunichev.

if they needed larger ones then could probably have another go at energia. I like the way it can use the Zenit ( sea launch ) as boosters. From 2 for energia m to 8 for Vulkan and you're looking at 200 tonnes to LEO

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara7.html

Detailed information about Angara-7 was first published around 2006, even though planners at the Khrunichev enterprise had started working on the concept sometime earlier. If ever built, the Angara-7 would double the payload capacity of Russian contemporary heavy lifter -- the Proton rocket. Unlike all previous versions of the Angara family of launchers, the Angara-7 would feature a central core module with a diameter inherited from Proton (4.1 meters). Six standard strap-on rocket modules, known by their Russian abbreviation -- URM for Universalniy Raketniy Modul -- borrowed from previous Angara rockets would complete the first stage.

also http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara100.html

nokia69

yeah I would love to see the energia fly again, with that bad boy the Russians could get to the Moon

the Russians are leading in space for now but the US will pass them soon

BULLER

That Angara 5 is a bit of a monster for a medium lift rocket! If it doesn't turn out cheaper, least it'll place more in orbit and be more environmentally friendly than the crazily toxic Proton.

For super-heavy lift class, yeah, I'd also love to see Energia fly again - it was a brute with potential. In 2012 Russia announced plans for another super-heavy. Not sure if that'll hold up with their economic collapse however!
SLS block I is delayed once again to NET 2018, incredible given the amount of money that is allocated separately to both itself and Orion.

My bet is on a SpaceX methane fueled BFR (Big, eh, Falcon, Rocket) to beat all of them to the punch!

Capt'n Midnight

BULLER wrote: »

That Angara 5 is a bit of a monster for a medium lift rocket! If it doesn't turn out cheaper, least it'll place more in orbit and be more environmentally friendly than the crazily toxic Proton.

Toxic but the Hypergolic propellants used are storable, have high density. Also ignition isn't an issue.

But there's big money in geostationary satellites and a bit of greenwashing won't hurt.
And they I really like the idea that it's using a stage and a half to orbit, no engine restarts.

SLS block I is delayed once again to NET 2018, incredible given the amount of money that is allocated separately to both itself and Orion.

how many billions have they spent on re-inventing the wheel ? It's even worse when you realise just how much of the components / design / materials / technology were already flight proven.
Then it could have been Atlas HLV instead of Delta for the Orion launch.

My bet is on a SpaceX methane fueled BFR (Big, eh, Falcon, Rocket) to beat all of them to the punch!

Big dumb boosters
First stage just has to be cheap and reliable. Get you past the atmospheric drag and a good chunk of the gravity drag.

Great book - the title page is

Ignition!
An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
by John D Clark
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

nokia69

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

My bet is on a SpaceX methane fueled BFR (Big, eh, Falcon, Rocket) to beat all of them to the punch!

Big dumb boosters
First stage just has to be cheap and reliable. Get you past the atmospheric drag and a good chunk of the gravity drag.

Great book - the title page is

Ignition!
An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
by John D Clark
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

the BFR will be big but it won't be dumb, repeating the mistakes of the past is exactly what spaceX want to avoid

Capt'n Midnight

nokia69 wrote: »

the BFR will be big but it won't be dumb, repeating the mistakes of the past is exactly what spaceX want to avoid

the secret is to "keep it simple stupid" as per Kelly Johnson

On the first stage there is no point in over engineering to save weight.
Second stage maybe.

I'm still not sure. The Shuttle was reusable , but the refurbishment costs fo each flight were astronomical.

_Tombstone_

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Zenit ( sea launch ) as boosters.

Zenit rocket raised on launch pad for possible final flight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4A3xgRJcfI

In the run up to what may be the final flight of a Zenit launcher, a Russian-Ukrainian creation that represented a new age of Soviet-era rocketry, ground crews transferred the powerful booster to a launch pad Wednesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The Zenit rocket reached its launch pad, part of Baikonur’s Complex 45 site, Wednesday after rolling on rails from a nearby assembly building. A hydraulic lift hoisted the rocket upright, where it stands nearly 20 stories tall awaiting liftoff Friday with a Russian weather satellite.

The launch is set for 1345:33 GMT (8:45 a.m. EST) Friday with the Elektro-L 2 meteorological observatory heading for a perch in geostationary orbit nearly 36,000 kilometers (nearly 22,300 miles) above the equator.

All the launches lately, xmas coming early. I have to go see one of these at some stage!!

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/12/09/zenit-rocket-raised-on-launch-pad-for-possible-final-flight/