Russian space corporation boss announces switch to new generation carrier rockets.
The director of Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos has revealed plans to wrap up production of the mainstay carrier rocket, Proton, and start building the latest generation of rockets, including returning launch vehicles. “We have the following objective set before us: to produce the necessary quantity of our legendary Proton rockets under the already-signed contracts and then close this project. In the future we will be using only the Angara rockets,” Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
But it's just a very limited in it's applications unpractical toy. Russians scraped that idea 35 years ago.
Chase Turner
However, the freshly-appointed Russian space chief did not disclose any dates at which the switch to the new launch vehicles is scheduled, saying that it would be possible to discuss the details when Russia’s main producer of space rockets, the Khrunichev Center, finishes the relocation from Moscow to Omsk.
The original Proton launch vehicle was developed in late 1960s, but currently Russia uses a much more advanced and capable Proton-M version of the rocket. The price of one Proton launch is estimated at about $70 million. rt.com/politics/430524-head-russian-space-corporation/
Jose Evans
The work on the Angara project started in early 1990s and the first test launch of the newest A-5 model, destined to replace the Protons, was successfully conducted in 2014. Angara’s engine RD-191 is described by experts as the world’s best “clean” engine that uses kerosene and oxygen as fuel. According to the Khrunichev Center, the engine can be used up to 10 times or more – which creates an opportunity for developing returning carrier rockets within the Angara family. Currently one launch of the Angara vehicle costs about $100 million but the price is expected to decrease after the production is moved from Moscow to Omsk.
Would a space race between private enterprise really be all that bad?
Ryder Green
you cant call others out on their flag when you're to much of a coward to show your own
Juan Lee
inb4; too
Isaac Jackson
>Look, I realize Elon Musk is really cool and all, but this latest is just not that significant. The Falcon Heavy can carry 63 tons into orbit – but only if the rocket isn’t reused. If it is, it’s just a sad 8 tons [for GTO launches]. That already rules out commercial applications involving very expensive payloads (e.g. most satellites), so long as reliability remains significantly worse than for proven workhorses like the Soyuz (97% success rate) or the Ariane (95%). >More importantly, 10 ton or even 100 ton payloads aren’t gonna cut it if we are serious about establishing a LARGE, autonomous Mars colony that could credibly serve as a long-term refuge from terrestrial existential risks
>Would a space race between private enterprise really be all that bad? Do you fucking know how many billions of dollars that fucking fraud Elon Musk sucked from the American tax payers via the USA Government as grants for his personal projects. ??? Do you fucker ??? Do you ???
>wrap up production >start building So they havnt actually done anything?
Evan Miller
>We ran out of the money and skilled engineers needed to build the Proton, a rocket first built in the 1960's so now we're going use a new, more expensive rocket that has only flown once despite, the fact that are budget is constantly getting cut. Say what you want about NASA's problems, but atleast their not a dying organisation like Roscosmos; at this point the Soyuz is the only thing they've got left.
That was 6 years ago, the times have changed significantly, by 2019 the US will have regained it's ability to launch men into space and the Soyuz will become much less profitable. Also, people tend to forget why ULA started using Russian rocket engines in the first place, it was a welfare scheme to keep Russian rocket engineers employed after the fall of the Cold War and deter them from moving to rogue states like NK, to work on their missile programs. NASA may not build good rockets anymore for the US anymore, but private companies definitely do.
