Flight (booster)

The idea of ​​an air launch appeared with the beginning of the space age. In Russia, the development of aerospace systems was started back in 1965 by Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky ^[3] . The advantages of such a launch were obvious based on the most basic concepts of space rocket technology. For example, according to the standard cyclogram of a Proton-M heavy class LV flight, the separation of the first stage occurs at an altitude of 42 km. The mass of the first stage in the filled state is 460 tons, that is, about 2/3 of the starting mass ^[5] . This means that, with the hypothetical possibility of launching from an altitude of 42 km, with the same and similarly directed initial speed, as with the Proton-M LV at the time of completion of the 1st stage engines, it is enough to bring the same payload to the same orbit there will be “remaining” steps with a total mass of 250 tons in the filled state. The ratio of the payload and the launch weight of the rocket in this case will increase by the same 2/3.

Another advantage of a “high” start is lower atmospheric pressure at high altitudes compared to ground pressure. In this case, the air resistance of the moving rocket is reduced, which reduces fuel consumption to achieve the same speed.

The third most important advantage of launching from a carrier aircraft is the high initial speed of 600-800 km / h ^[1] , which is quite achievable with full load of the main types of modern heavy military transport aircraft. Such indicators mean that already at launch the rocket will have an initial speed of about 3% of the first space , and moreover, directed tangentially to the earth's surface, which facilitates the "spin" of the payload around the Earth .

The history of the LV Flight

In the 1990s, Makeev Center , previously specializing in the development of ballistic missiles for submarines (SLBMs), found itself in a difficult situation along with other defense industry enterprises of Russia . The situation was complicated by the fact that the center itself was located at a great distance from the capital , which made it difficult to obtain profitable defense contracts. The development of the new Bulava SLBM was entrusted to the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering. Left without a “native” theme, the company began to make efforts to create promising unusual models of rocket technology with potentially high performance. Some of them, according to open sources for 2013, are left without significant progress (for example, the Russian spacecraft with reusable first stage), some are being prepared for testing with good prospects for arming (the only missile in the world for the Skif ^[6] perhaps a promising heavy mine ICBM ^[7] ). Among the many ideas expressed in the Design Bureau. Makeev, there was the idea of ​​an air launch of the Launch of the “Launch” launch vehicle as part of the “Air Launch” project from a heavy carrier transport aircraft (SN) of the An-124VS Ruslan type.

• Design concept As of 2013, the ARKKN project “Air Launch” looks like this: ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} Launcher The flight consists of 2 stages, with a total launch mass in the refueling state of 100 tons and a maximum launch mass in 3.5-4 tons. In the first stage, the NK-43 marching rocket engine is used, which is a high-altitude modification of the well-known NK-33 engine designed for the N1 lunar rocket. Kerosene is used as fuel on this family, and liquid oxygen is used as an oxidizing agent. It is supposed to use the 11D58M ^[1] or RD-0124 ^[3] liquid propellant rocket engine used in the oxygen-kerosene booster blocks of the DM RKK Energia type or the third stage of the Soyuz 2.1b launch vehicle Samara TsSKB-Progress, respectively.
• Launch concept It is assumed that preparation for launch will be carried out in a ground-based MIC, and launch control and support will be carried out from special command posts, some of which may be located on board escort aircraft or from the very MV. The missile launch is supposed to be carried out using a mortar launch from a transport and launch container located in the cargo compartment of the AN-124BC. A mortar launch is used because a too slow exit can lead to missile hooks on structural elements of the SN, as well as impacts on the hull and bending loads in the rear of the fuselage. According to the calculations of engineers, such a development of events leads to the death of the crew with a probability close to unity. After separation from the aircraft, the speed of the launch vehicle is artificially extinguished by parachute to a value of 20 m / s less than that of the air carrier, so that the "flying spaceport" could move to a safe distance. Devices of the braking system should also make the rocket turn to a vertical position before starting the engines. In the case of regular operation, the rocket stages carry out the output of the payload to a low reference orbit in accordance with the flight sequence control previously loaded into the on-board system.
• Base airfields In September 2007, an agreement was concluded between Russia and Indonesia on the use of the airfield on Biak Island as a base airfield for launches from the equator region ^[4] . The performance characteristics of Ruslan-type aircraft also allow flights over distances of up to several thousand kilometers with a payload equal to the mass of the launch container and the fueled rocket. If the developer succeeds in solving problems with the evaporation of the cryogenic components of the oxidizer and keeping the rocket in a state ready for launch for several hours, it will be possible to fly to almost any launch point on the globe from airfields in Russia.
• Launch Economy According to estimates from 2000-2007, the cost of withdrawing one kilogram of cargo to a DOE should be in the range from 2.5 ^[2] to 10 thousand dollars depending on the size of the series, that is, on the number of launches. To reach the lower end of the range, about 10-12 launches per year are needed. For comparison, the cost of launching one Proton-M for foreign customers is about $ 100 million. This amounts to about 4.5 thousand per 1 kg with the withdrawal to DOE 200 km. But Proton is mainly used for conclusions to Geo-transitional and Geostationary orbits. RN Flight does not make sense in this context as a competitor to heavy launch vehicles. The main orbits for launches from the Air Launch lie below the geostationary ones.

• Prospects of the Flight Flight Despite the high demand on the market and the wide opportunities that open up, the project, apparently, has no prospects to be implemented in the next 10 years (for 2013). The main reason is problems with the adaptation of the carrier aircraft and the safety of the aircraft crew at launch. To date, only 4 aircraft of comparable size with the An-124 are in operation in the world. In addition to Ruslan, these are the Boeing 747 , S-5 Galaxy and A-380 . It can be safely stated that the An-124 is one of the most unique and technically sophisticated aircraft in the world. But this means that the entire world aviation industry has not yet been able to fully develop such complex structures. After the collapse of the USSR, Antonov's design bureau remained in Ukraine . Many production and "design" ties were broken, the production of An-124 is closed, Russia and Ukraine live according to different legal laws, pursue various geopolitical goals. The complexity of the situation is evidenced by the fact that the joint production of the An-70 , an aircraft much younger and necessary for the Russian armed forces, has not yet been established. Moreover, Russia is pursuing an active policy to transfer all defense industries to its territory, including restarting new-old factories and creating parent organizations of developers for them. Examples include the creation of the Angara launch vehicle family (including to replace the current Ukrainian Cyclone and Zenit launch vehicles ), the launch of production of VK-2500 engines for helicopters (to replace TVZ-117 ), and the transfer of IL-76 production stopped in Tashkent to Ulyanovsk from relatively small modernization (so-called product 476). In a situation where Russia and Ukraine are geopolitical competitors, the use of the An-124 in the flagship national project threatens with serious reputational losses. It is hard to imagine that the United States drove its astronauts to the moon on a French rocket, even though they were NATO allies. As confirmation, one can cite the cancellation of the order to adopt the Italian Lynx armored vehicles ^[8] , produced in Russia under license, and the indefinite transfer of the second pair of Mistral vehicles ^[9] , the production of which should also be localized at 60 and 80 (!) Percent with the transfer of key technologies (!). It is also necessary to mention the joint Russian-Ukrainian Sea Launch , which has already been implemented in many ways, a unique project of a floating equatorial spaceport, which does not have close technical analogues for 2013, but is constantly on the verge of bankruptcy. Despite a solid history and characteristics, it cannot even get 4-6 starts per year for minimal profitability ^[10] . According to open sources, in 2013 Makeev’s design bureau was at the stage of active implementation of at least 2 projects: the world's only bottom-mounted stationary missile Skif and a heavy ICBM to replace the V-Vovod R-36M . This, taking into account the crisis of the 90s, is likely to reduce the number of highly skilled specialists working on the "Flight" ^[11] . Due to the fact that Russia today does not have a national aircraft, similar in terms of carrying capacity to Ruslan, the prospects for the implementation of the current version of the project Air Launch with LV Flight until 2025 seem unlikely.
• Prospects of close analogs of the Polet launch vehicle. The payload of the Il-476, the most cargo-carrying Russian transport aircraft today, is 60-65 tons; therefore, it is not possible to place a launch vehicle with a weight of 100 tons inside the cargo compartment. Of the available aircraft, only the Tu-160 has the ability to take about 100 tons aboard PN, but due to the limited internal space, it will have to abandon the mortar launch and suspend the rocket on an external load. This will require a major design change. Tu-160 is a supersonic aircraft, it is advisable to launch at a maximum speed of more than 2M (sound speeds) to improve energy performance. Higher speed provides less response time of the control system to emergency situations deviations from the flight path and. etc. Perhaps the changes will be so great that in this case the rocket will be given a different name.
• General Assessment Despite the fact that the “Air Launch” project, as well as the projects for launching spacecraft on board heavy carrier aircraft, is very attractive from an economic point of view, the issue has not been technically worked out and requires considerable funds to complete the development. Serious technological difficulties cause the safety of the crew of the carrier aircraft. Prior to this, loss of life in the event of accidents when starting an automatic machine was a rare accident. In this case, the risk becomes the norm. Attempts to create UAVs on the basis of a heavy transport aircraft are fraught with great financial costs and technological difficulties. The absence of the Russian partner’s partner center for the creation of a national heavy transport aircraft with a carrying capacity of 150 tons and the lack of mutual understanding with Ukraine on much more important projects for Russia pushes the possible launch of the Polot launch vehicle beyond 2025.