 Shunting engines can be seen by the thin "horns" of flame on the sides of a rocket taking off |
Shunting engine (abroad called the Vernier engine [1] , fr. Moteur vernier , as well as a side accelerator , English side thruster ) - an element of a rocket propulsion system designed to correct the flight path ( maneuvering ) of a missile with an abandoned payload or warhead of an intercontinental ballistic missile , both within the atmosphere and in airless space . As a rule, it is the last element of the propulsion system in the sequence of activation, or it works synchronously with the main engine, compensating for its work with deviations from the set course. The same missile can have shunting engines around the marching stage body for course correction during the active phase of the flight path ( boost phase ), when it passes through atmospheric layers, and shunting engines in the head part for course correction during inertia flight ( post- boost phase ) in an airless space, in front of the terminal (ballistic) portion of the flight path . Together with the control equipment and fuel supply, it can be up to 4 β 5 of the total mass of the output cargo [2] . Failure, malfunction or failure of the shunting engine can lead to non-fulfillment by the spacecraft of the flight mission [3] . In the event that specification is needed, the term can be used in the plural in the context of a detailed technical description of a rocket [4] .
Content
Range of Application
| External video files | |
|---|---|
| 3-D animation of the operation of the shunting engines of the penultimate and last stages in space (2:28 - 2:41) | |
The task of the shunting engine when launching artificial satellites is to launch the satellite into working orbit [2] . As part of the remote control of descent vehicles, shunting engines can be used to increase lateral controllability during and after entering the atmosphere [5] . As part of the remote control of spacecraft intended for interplanetary expeditions, the operating time of shunting engines can reach several minutes [6] . In military astronautics, shunting engines are used in the remote control of unmanned satellite interceptors [7] and manned reconnaissance satellites [8] .
Electric propulsion engines as shunting engines
After the development of an electric rocket engine (ERE) by academician V.P. Glushko , engines of this type, thanks to the relatively low thrust developed by them, begin to be used as maneuvering vehicles operating in orbit and in interplanetary space (in particular, to compensate for course deviations, due to the gravitational field of the object). [9] In addition to the electric propulsion , in the 1960s, it was proposed to use ionic engines as shunting [10] .
Failure cases
| date | Apparatus | Appointment of the apparatus | Failure result | Cit. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 6, 1969 | Cosmos-291 | target satellite | device non-entry into working orbit | [eleven] |
| October 28, 1977 | Cosmos-954 | reconnaissance satellite | descent from orbit and uncontrolled fall | [12] |
| April 18, 1980 | Cosmos-1174 | interceptor satellite | deviation away from the target, miss | [13] |
Notes
- β By the name of the Vernier scale ("Vernier"), derived from the name of the French scientist Pierre Vernier .
- β 1 2 Slavin S.V. Secrets of military cosmonautics, 2005 , p. 111.
- β Zheleznyakov A. B. Soviet astronautics: a chronicle of accidents and disasters, 2005 , p. 120, 128.
- β Kobelev V.N. , Milovanov A.G. Spacecraft launch vehicles . - M .: Restart, 2009 .-- S. 171 - 528 p. - ISBN 978-5-904348-01-4 .
- β Lukashevich V.P. , Afanasyev I. B. Cosmic wings . - M.: LenTa Wanderings, 2009 .-- S. 407 - 496 p. - ISBN 978-5-85247-317-2 .
- β Komarov S. Chronicle of the missing expedition β III . // Chemistry and life - XXI century . - 2004. - No. 2. - S. 72 - ISSN 0130-5972.
- β Slavin S.V. Secrets of military cosmonautics, 2005 , p. 109.
- β Slavin S.V. Secrets of military cosmonautics, 2005 , p. 224.
- β Slavin S.V. Secrets of military cosmonautics, 2005 , p. 27.
- β Gavrilov A.N. Production of devices and automation equipment . - M.: Knowledge , 1965 .-- S. 13 - 48 p. - (New in life, science, technology. 4 series. Technology. 24).
- β Zheleznyakov A. B. Soviet astronautics: a chronicle of accidents and disasters, 2005 , p. 120.
- β Zheleznyakov A. B. Soviet astronautics: a chronicle of accidents and disasters, 2005 , p. 66.
- β Zheleznyakov A. B. Soviet astronautics: a chronicle of accidents and disasters, 2005 , p. 128.
Literature
- Zheleznyakov A. B. Soviet astronautics: a chronicle of accidents and disasters. - St. Petersburg: Levran, 1998 .-- 143 p.
- Slavin S.V. Secrets of military cosmonautics. - M .: Veche, 2005 .-- 448 p. - (Military Parade of History) - ISBN 5-9533-0912-0 .