totm dec 2019 Russian Launch and Mission Thread

[DDE]

1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

Vostok webcams?

  Hide contents

Imho, a fake.
The tubes are floating too smoothly, the face sometimes moves independently to the suit, too  good quality at all.

 

If so, we get to point and laugh:

Yes, the source did claim heavy remastering.

[kerbiloid]

https://www.interfax.ru/russia/761545

Roscosmos and Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) are going to build a space engineering center Far Eastern Regional Center For Remote Earth Monitoring _{(literally - probing)} on the Russky Island near Vladivostok, where the FEFU is currently placed.

Spoiler

It will have R&D laboratories and train specialists.

P.S.
The island is connected with other part of the planet by the long Russky Bridge, having been built for the economic summit a decade ago.

Spoiler

We need to have...
1) ... such bridge from KSC to the airfield island (Then it will be able to be a space engineering center).
2) ... the island to be renamed after the bridge.

Edited April 16, 2021 by kerbiloid

[Codraroll]

Well, that certainly seems like a suitably remote place for Earth monitoring. Nothing to do every morning apart from drawing back the bedroom curtains and determine whether the Earth is still there.

[DDE]

2 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

https://www.interfax.ru/russia/761545

Roscosmos and Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) are going to build a space engineering center Far Eastern Regional Center For Remote Earth Monitoring _{(literally - probing)} on the Russky Island near Vladivostok, where the FEFU is currently placed.

  Hide contents

It will have R&D laboratories and train specialists.

P.S.
The island is connected with other part of the planet by the long Russky Bridge, having been built for the economic summit a decade ago.

  Hide contents

We need to have...
1) ... such bridge from KSC to the airfield island (Then it will be able to be a space engineering center).
2) ... the island to be renamed after the bridge.

A-khem... I demand the full supervillain lair package.

 

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

Still watching the map....
These four islands look so similar...

And the lower part, too.

Edited April 16, 2021 by kerbiloid

[kerbiloid]

https://www.interfax.ru/russia/761601

https://www.interfax.ru/russia/761679

Energomash has prepared the last six RD-180 engines to deliver them to NASA under the contract, for P&W and ULA.
This Wednesday they have been handed over.

122 such engines were built and transferred in total. Current contract finished in 2020.
Currently they are discussing a new contract.

Earlier the First Deputy of Roscosmos CEO has stated that the RD-180/181 contract brings about one third of total (income? profit?) of Energomash.
In case of the contract cancellation Energomash won't get 10..13 bln RUR (~150 mln USD).

RD-180 is used by ULA in Atlas-5.
RD-181 is used by Orbital ATK in Antares for Cygnus.

US congressmen were encouraging to stop buying them and replace with local ones, but agree that this is unlikely possible till 2024.

 

Roscosmos CEO Rogozin has stated that US won't be able to replace RD-180 in foreseeable future.

"In future the American engineers will develop a replacement, much more expensive.
I mean, not a replacement, but a product of their own, expensive, import substitution.
By that time we will have already developed a new generation of rocket engines."

[SOXBLOX]

1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

Roscosmos CEO Rogozin has stated that US won't be able to replace RD-180 in foreseeable future.

Well, I'm sure he would think so. 

[tater]

Soyuz coming home right now:

 

Russian coverage will likely be in better than the glorious 720p of NASA:

 

[tater]

Last 1000m or so

[sh1pman]

Russia has decided to abandon the ISS in 2025 and create their own national space station.

Quote

At a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, which took place on April 12, Cosmonautics Day, the decision to create its own space station and abandon the use of the International Space Station (ISS) was announced. This information was aired on the TV channel "Russia-1" in the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin.

Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, answering the question of the author of the program, said: "Honestly we should warn them (space partners of Russia in space. - RBK) about leaving the ISS from 2025."

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by sh1pman

[kerbiloid]

https://www.interfax.ru/russia/761851

The final decision will be done after detailed analysis of actual state of the currently existing modules of the "Russian segment" of ISS.

***

Meanwhile the Nauka / Science is still scheduled on July, for being docked to the Zvezda module.

After docking and redocking this should look like this

Spoiler

The proposal of the own space station looks like that

Spoiler

 

Upd.
https://www.interfax.ru/russia/761853

Rumors tell that they estimate in 6 bln USD (till 2030) the orbital station project.

***

By Nov, 15, 2022 they are going to develop a draft project of the nuclear tug "Nucleon" for lunar geological studies.

Edited April 18, 2021 by kerbiloid

[kerbiloid]

Just a personal guess.

***

The most convincing explanation of the strange leaking in the Zvezda transfer chamber which I met, is that 'Muricans are guilty.

Every time when a heavy thing like a ship (100+ t Shuttle, 10+ t Cygnus or Dragon), or a 15 t station module, or a 10 t truss segment are docking to ISS, the ISS attitude control system tries to control the attitude.
I.e. it enables all kinds of SAS (RCS, gyrodynes, whatever) to keep the station orientation fixed, and to prevent its rotation after the docking.

This in turn means that the whole station is bending and flexing before and right after the docking, before gets still again.
Including the Russian segment.

But the American modules:
1) are attached by later, greater, and stronger adaptors;
2) are connected to the truss closer to the CoM than Zvezda with a bunch of small modules atached to its end.

So, on every American docking, Zvezda starts bending like a cat o'nine tails or a morning star with balls on its end, so its transfer chamber is bending-unbending like an accordeon.
Like when you remove a can top by bending, this weakens the metal of the hull. Not at once, but creating band(s) of thinned, porous metal.
So, probably to the moment, Zvezda transfer chamber doesn't have a real hole, but it has bands of invisible microholes in the places where it bends.
That's why they still can't find the leakage, because it's nowhere and everywhere at once.

***

This in turn means that the defect is not repairable, and the microholes will be growing and merging, finally visibly cutting the hull. Maybe slower, maybe faster.

So, docking something like Nauka to the leaking Zvezda will make less and less sense, because it's already loosing air at impressive rate.

On the other hand, if launch Nauka as a separated station, it brings a headache with the station building from scratch.

So, I guess, they will dock Nauka to Zvezda, reberth onto it everything possible, including one or two new smaller modules more, and when the cracks make Zvezda isolated, they will undock Nauka, launch and dock energetical module to it, and this will be the separated orbital station.
Because modules are built, they must be used.

Edited April 18, 2021 by kerbiloid

[DDE]

1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

Because modules are built, they must be used.

And Nauka is a big cautionary tale in that regard. I don't think a higher-inclination orbit offers a significant benefit, if any, outside of remote sensing applications, so they should go ahead with the "ISS splinter" concept.

[kerbiloid]

21 minutes ago, DDE said:

And Nauka is a big cautionary tale in that regard. I don't think a higher-inclination orbit offers a significant benefit, if any, outside of remote sensing applications, so they should go ahead with the "ISS splinter" concept.

They may use the Nucleon to reorbit it to the polar orbit.
_{(guessing/jesting)}

[Codraroll]

6 hours ago, sh1pman said:

Russia has decided to abandon the ISS in 2025 and create their own national space station.

An investment far beyond any budget they've committed to since Mir or so, a task similar to (but much more complex than) the one they've already failed to perform since the 1990s (that unused ISS module they've talked about launching since forever), requiring a launch vehicle they don't have, a business case that's dodgy at best, and a ridiculously short time frame. I think we've hit Rogozin bingo.

[kerbiloid]

I worry if they get Nauka docked to ISS this summer.
Because the movie filming is planned on autumn.

[kerbiloid]

https://www.interfax.ru/world/762089

The Vice Premier Minister of Russia, Yuri Borisov, stated that the planned orbital station is going to fly on a  high-latitude (near-polar) orbit, to see Russia, Arctics, and Northern Sea Route.

"ISS is getting age-challenged, the risk of catastrophic events grows, we can't allow this", he said.

[SOXBLOX]

9 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

... Arctics, ...

I know this region is heating up geopolitically, but what benefits are there to having a station in a polar orbit? If you wanna see the poles, just use a satellite, right?

On 4/18/2021 at 12:51 PM, Codraroll said:

An investment far beyond any budget...

Yeah, I'll believe this stuff when I see it. Until then, dream on, Dmitri Olegovich.

[kerbiloid]

39 minutes ago, SOXBLOX said:

I know this region is heating up geopolitically, but what benefits are there to having a station in a polar orbit? If you wanna see the poles, just use a satellite, right?

Russia and Canada are at same range of latitudes, ~43+ N
So, the polar orbit allows to pass above all Russian territory, while the traditional ones can't see most part of it.
USA lies farther to South, almost at Central Asia and Middle East. (Except that wildland with polar bears and radars)

Edited April 20, 2021 by kerbiloid

[kerbiloid]

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ru&tl=en&u=https://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/20/04/2021/607e83219a79470f2ef1084d

Rogozin stated that the base module of the planned orbital station is under construction. It's to be launched in 2025.

He also attached a video (watch at the link).
According to the caption, this is the  НЭМ /NEM  (Научно-Энергетический / Nauchno-Energetichesky / Scientific Energy / Science & Power) Module 
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ru&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fru.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FНаучно-энергетический_модуль&sandbox=1

It was tested in 2019 and planned to for ISS on 2023, but currently it's planned for the new station on 2025.

(See the pic in the previous post).

Also the caption "Mockup" can be seen in the video.

[sh1pman]

4 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Russia and Canada are at same range of latitudes, ~43+ N
So, the polar orbit allows to pass above all Russian territory, while the traditional ones can't see most part of it.
USA lies farther to South, almost at Central Asia and Middle East. (Except that wildland with polar bears and radars)

If the new station is planned to be on a different orbit than ISS, it means that they can’t undock the ISS segment to use it as a starting point. But then what’s the point of launching Nauka now, if it’s only going to be operational for 3-4 years. Better save it for the new station.

Edited April 20, 2021 by sh1pman

[kerbiloid]

1 hour ago, sh1pman said:

If the new station is planned to be on a different orbit than ISS, it means that they can’t undock the ISS segment to use it as a starting point.

It means, they should attach a booster to turn the orbit plane.

Nauka is obviously too good to be docked to the leaking Zvezda, but as they still plan this this summer, I guess they have some plan of its post-ISS usage, like on the picture.
Also I never heard about any other Nauka-like module.

They also said a day ago that the new station may fly on a "higher" orbit than ISS.
This can mean either "higher altitude", or "higher latitude", so of course they can do anything unexpected, but maybe they will just attach some kind of booster to the separated segment after its undocking, or do this in several attempts.

Ideally, they should dock the Nucleon to the ready station an test it practically.

Edited April 20, 2021 by kerbiloid

[SOXBLOX]

12 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

So, the polar orbit allows to pass above all Russian territory, while the traditional ones can't see most part of it.

Yeah. But, why is a station viewing these latitudes useful? Access is harder, because of the inclination, which is a con. What are the pros?

And yes, I know what a map looks like.

Edited April 20, 2021 by SOXBLOX

[kerbiloid]

1 hour ago, SOXBLOX said:

But, why is a station viewing these latitudes useful?

Because there are cities, rigs, industry, woods, seaports, and sea ways there.

(If you mean the global warming and the ice melting - probably, too, but this will happen two new stations later)

Edited April 20, 2021 by kerbiloid

[sh1pman]

Maybe they can buy a Starship service to grab Nauka and boost it to another inclination.