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Russia to launch new Soyuz-2 in 2014
Russia has postponed the launch its new Soyuz 2-1.v carrier rocket next year, Aerospace Defence Troops spokesperson, Colonel Dmitry Zenin told ITAR-TASS.
The rocket was scheduled to launch December 25 and carry an Aist satellite.
Initially, the rocket was supposed to be launched on December 23, but pre-launch checks revealed the need for additional preparation of the ground systems.
The Soyuz-2.1v carrier rocket is a two-stage light vehicle. With a Volga booster it is intended for taking satellites to circular orbits of up to 1,500 km and heliosynchronous orbits of up to 850 km. The rocket, designed and made by Samara-based CSKB Progress, is to replace Tsiklon and Kosmos carriers and duplicate Rokot and eventually Angara 1.1 and Angara 1.2 rockets.
Quelle: ITARTASS
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Russia delay Soyuz-2-1v debut
Russia postponed the debut their new Soyuz-2-1v rocket that was set to launch on Wednesday. The secretive launch of the new Soyuz – that does not sport any of the boosters familiar to the other members of the Soyuz family – was set to loft the Aist satellite and two SKRL-756 calibration spheres on Christmas Day from launch pad 43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
UPDATE:
Launch delayed until the new year due to unknown issues during the countdown.
New Soyuz Launch Overview:
The Soyuz is one of the best known launch vehicles on the planet, with a rich history that ranges back into the early days of the space program,
The new vehicle is a member of the Soyuz-2 family, a direct descendant of the older and wildly successful Soyuz-U family of rockets.
Several variants of the Soyuz-2 family include the Soyuz-2-1a, an upgrade of the Soyuz-U with modern digital electronics and revised upper stage functions.
Soyuz-2-1b replaced the upper stage with a new unit, powered by an improved avionics suite and more powerful engine.
The Soyuz-ST – flown out of Kourou, French Guiana - provided a customized version of the Soyuz-2 for use by the European Space Agency (ESA).
For the 2-1v, the program is making a large change, replacing the 55 year old design for the first stage and its boosters. This initiative came after successful inaugural flight of the Soyuz-2-1b in 2008, with final approval granted for what is known as the Soyuz-2-1v program.
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The Soyuz-2-1v marks an increase in the first stage diameter from 2 meters to 2.7 meters, and replaces the aged RD-108 with a new engine.
The vehicle will carry over the control and guidance systems from the Soyuz-2-1b and will interface with the already existing ground support equipment.
Per an array of presentations in the L2 Russian Section – L2 LINK - the vehicle stands 44 meters tall on the launch pad.
Replacing the legacy R-7 first stage and boosters, the new first stage sports a replacement engine, designated as the 14D15, built by the NK Engines Company.
Images of the engine show it is based on the NK-33, from Sergei Korolev’s ambitious moon rocket, the N-1.
Notably, Orbital’s Antares launch vehicle also utilizes engines derived from the NK-33 – the Aerojet-supplied AJ26-62.
While the Soyuz-2-1v uses one main engine – with a separate engine for vector and roll control – Orbital’s rocket utilizes two AJ-26′s together, in order to handle vector and roll control requirements.
This engine’s stats include a thrust rating listed at 1,545 KN (Sea Level), 1,720 KN (Vacuum), with a Thrust Specific Impulse of 297.6s (Sea Level), 331.2s (Vacuum), with a thrust range of 55 percent to 100 percent of rating.
Documentation also shows another engine on the core, the RD-0110R called the 14D24. The 14D24 handles the vector and roll controls for the first stage.
The stats for this engine include a thrust rating listed at 24.28 KN (Sea Level), 27.81 KN (Vacuum), with a Thrust Specific Impulse of 260.5s (Sea Level), 298.3s (Vacuum), while the dry weight of the engine is 425 kg, compared to 1,250 kg for the 14D15.
In addition, the new launch vehicle will debut with the new Volga insertion stage. Said to be cheaper than the Fregat stage currently in service, the Volga will cater for orbital insertion to orbits as high as 1700 km.
Built to endure up to 24 hours of operation – with multiple restart capability – the Volga is targeted at the largest base of Fregat customers on the Soyuz, those seeking mid to high orbits.
This unit has been developed internally by TsSKB, who are aiming to ensure the Volga will be compatible with the entire Soyuz-2 fleet of launch vehicles.
The company predicts it could replace the more expensive Fregat on half of missions it is currently used for.
The engine details for the Volga Upper Stage have not been disclosed at this time.
The most striking element for the Soyuz-2-1v is the removal of the distinctive boosters that are usually seen surrounding the core stage. However, careful examination of the booster reveals that there is still provision to add four boosters to the design as a potential upgrade path for the future.
Several concepts relating of this projected upgrade have appeared over the years, but have remained on the drawing board. One such upgrade is called the Soyuz-2-3, which sports boosters using the RD-0155 engine, RD-193 engine or RD-120 engine.
The design of these boosters have varied over time, but a model on display in Vienna shows a vehicle with four cylindrical boosters topped with a nose reminiscent of that found on the Energia.
Further evolution is noted in the notional Soyuz-3 project, which replaces the Soyuz-2 upper stage with a new unit, based on a Hydrogen-driven – as opposed to Kerosene – Soyuz-2 upper stage, using the new RD-0146 engine co-developed with Pratt & Whitney.
The first flight unit of the 1v was completed in 2012 and shipped to the launch site at Plesetsk.
The first test stage of the 1v was rolled out on January 6, 2011 from the Zagorsk testing facility in Peresvet Russia, just north of Moscow. It was then used for several engine tests relating to the fuel system, tank pressure testing, etc.
The first full-up firing of the complete first stage took place at the Zagorsk facility – which has been home for rocket stage testing since 1949, following the inaugural test of a Russian copy of the German V-2 rocket.
The launch of the new rocket has been delayed several times.
Little is known about the payloads that are set to ride uphill on this debut launch, other than an Aist satellite will be riding alongside two SKRL-756 calibration spheres.
Aist – a prototype spacecraft designed by the Rocket and Space Center and Samara State Aerospace University - will be launched on top of the upper configuration, while the two spheres will be placed on either side, below the Aist spacecraft.
The target orbit for Aist is understood to be in a 575 km altitude with a 64.9 degree inclination – similar to the orbit of a previous Aist spacecraft launched by a Soyuz 2-1A earlier this year during the BION-M mission.
Quelle: NS
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Update:
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Test launch of Russia's new light-class rocket may take place before year-end - source
A state commission working at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome may decide to conduct the first test launch of Russia's new Soyuz-2.1v light-class carrier rocket in 2013 instead of 2014, as it was planned earlier, a cosmodrome source has said.
"The state commission's session has been set for this afternoon. A decision may be made at it to conduct the rocket's launch within the next two days," the source said.
Vigorous steps are being taken at the launch pad to fix all the ground-base equipment defects that delayed the launch, he added.
The Russian Aerospace Defense Forces spokesman, Col. Dmitry Zenin, said earlier that the first trial mission of the Soyuz-2.1v rocket had been postponed until 2014.
"The launch has been rescheduled for the following year. A decision was made to conduct more tests," Zenin told Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
The launch had been postponed more than once previously. Soyuz-2.1v is a two-stage light vehicle built to launch satellites from Soyuz-2 pads. It is a modification of Soyuz-2.1b without side boosters and with the NK-33A engine installed in the central unit and the RD0110R control engine. The Soyuz-2.1b third stage is upgraded in the new rocket. The lightweight launch vehicle has been developed due to the increased demand for launching small satellites.
Update: 28.12.2013
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Soyuz-2.1v rocket places satellites into interim orbit - Russian Defense Ministry
MOSCOW. Dec 28 - The Soyuz-2.1v launch vehicle has successfully lifted its Volga upper stage and a group of satellites to an interim orbit, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman told Interfax-AVN on Saturday.
"The light-weight rocket Soyuz, which blasted off from Plesetsk [Cosmodrome], has successfully placed its upper stage and three satellites into an interim orbit. The satellites are expected to reach their designated orbit in several hours," he said.
Quelle: Interfax
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After Series of Delays, Russia Launches New Soyuz Rocket
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Soyuz-2.1v carrier rocket, Nov. 23, 2013
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MOSCOW, – A new Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia on Saturday after numerous delays earlier this week, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said the launch took place at 16:30 Moscow time (12:30 GMT).
The rocket put into designated orbit a small research satellite built by students and young scientists.
The new rocket, dubbed the Soyuz-2.1v, is to feature a completely reworked first stage powered by a NK-33 (14D15) rocket engine built by the NK Engines Company in the Russian city of Samara. The rocket lacks the characteristic four boosters that Soyuz and its ancestors have had since the R-7 missile that launched Sputnik in 1957.
The launch was originally scheduled for Monday and was delayed first until Tuesday and then until Wednesday due to concern over a possible malfunction of one of the rocket’s engines.
A Russian defense official, Colonel Dmitry Zenin, said later on Wednesday the launch was postponed again and will take place sometime next year.
A state commission that gathered on Saturday morning, decided to launch the rocket at 14:00, but it was also cancelled minutes before the planned blastoff.
The Soyuz, the most frequently launched rocket in the world, has undergone more than 1,700 launches since its debut in 1966. It is one of only two rockets worldwide that are capable of sending astronauts into orbit, the other being the Chinese Long March 2F.
Quelle: RIA NOVOSTI