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Amur-LNG

Roscosmos State Corporation and the Progress Rocket and Space Center (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) signed a contract on October 5, 2020 for the development of a preliminary design of a space rocket complex with a new Amur launch vehicle, which is evidently a SpaceX Falcon 9 with Russian characteristics. The carrier will be the first Russian reusable methane rocket. One of the features of the project - "Amur" will create at a given cost of the launch service $ 22 million. Also, the rocket will receive an unprecedented level of reliability. It is planned to launch a prospective launch vehicle from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region. The program for creating the carrier was approved at a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council of the State Corporation with the participation of Dmitry Rogozin, General Director of Roscosmos.

The ideology of the new carrier, where it will land and how its returning stage will be serviced, whether robots will transport it, the uniqueness of the Cupid launch pad, as well as the cost of the program, its timing, hot reservation and immortal engines were told in a conversation with TASS, Roscosmos executive director for prospective programs and science Alexander Bloshenko and chief expert of the department for prospective programs and the Sphere project of the State Corporation, responsible for the implementation of the Amur-LNG project, Igor Pshenichnikov.

To date, methane-oxygen engines are being developed for the first stages of prospective launch vehicles; plans to use liquefied natural gas as a rocket fuel are a global trend. SpaceX is going to use the liquefied gas version of the Raptor engine on a number of its rockets. It is the methane engines, according to the American company, that should send the first earthlings to Mars. Another BE-4 methane engine is being developed by another private US company, Blue Origin, for use in the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket.

Methane is, first of all, a cheap fuel, its processing and use is widely mastered by other industries, which makes it possible to use ready-made infrastructure solutions. For example, there is no need to develop any special storage facilities for methane at the Amur onshore complex - the standard designs of PJSC Gazprom will be taken. Moreover, just 50 kilometers from Vostochny, a gas processing complex of Gazprom (Amur GPP) is being built under a contract with China, from which it is enough to stretch a gas pipeline to the launch of Amur. Fueling the rocket will become even cheaper.

In addition to a good "economy", liquefied gas has a number of technical advantages. Methane is the most convenient fuel for reusable rockets. When burned, unlike kerosene, liquefied gas produces very little soot. With methane, engine elements do not have to be cleaned of unburned fuel residues. The high cooling capacity of methane will help remove excess engine heat during operation. Plus methane will provide more specific impulse.

Methane is often criticized for its low density. It is believed that because of this, the tank will have to be made larger, which will lead to an increase in the mass of the entire rocket and a loss in payload. “These statements do not correspond to reality - when cooled to ultra-low temperatures, the liquefied gas is compacted enough to use tanks of standard volumes,” Bloshenko explained.

According to Pshenichnikov, according to preliminary calculations, the methane "Amur" will receive a take-off weight of about 360 tons, the height of the rocket will reach 55 meters, the diameter will be 4.1 meters. The carrier will have a reversible first stage and a second stage of single use, both equipped with methane engines. The reusable block will receive landing rods, as well as aerodynamic lattice rudders. This equipment can be removed for launch in a traditional disposable version. With the return stage, the Amur will be able to launch into low-earth orbit up to 10.5 tons of payload, versus 8.5 for the Soyuz-2 series rockets. In an expepndable non-reusable one-off version, Amur will lift 12.5 tons into the same orbit.

“One of the characteristic features of the new rocket will be a large nose fairing with a diameter of up to 5.1 meters. We lay down the characteristics of the fairing in such a way that it can meet the requirements of modern and future spacecraft, in addition, it is supposed to ensure the second stage is re-activated or deep throttled, which, in turn, will provide the possibility of cluster launches. All these decisions are aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the product being created," explained Pshenichnikov.

According to the calculations of industry institutes, the Amur rocket will have at least two times less parts than in a series of launchers of a similar Soyuz-2 class - preliminary, 2 thousand parts in Amur, against 4.5 thousand parts in Soyuz. As an example, experts cited the fuel tank of the future rocket - it will actually be one for two different fuel components, simply separated by a partition. This is due to the fact that the liquefaction temperatures of methane and oxygen are approximately the same.

"As a result, we significantly simplify the design and reduce the number of assembly units - in comparison with Soyuz, there will be about half of them. This is important from the point of view of reliability, and we would like our rocket to be reliable, like a Kalashnikov assault rifle.""

"Amur" can get the option of the so-called hot backup, which will significantly increase the reliability of the carrier. At the first stage of the rocket, it is planned to place five RD-0169A methane-oxygen engines, which are currently being developed at the Voronezh Design Bureau of Chemical Automatics. The rated thrust of these engines is assumed to be 100 tons. “We assume the presence of afterburner mode for the first stage engines, which will allow us to implement the so-called hot standby scheme - if one of the engines fails, the rest will automatically increase their power to ensure the continuation of the flight,” Bloshenko noted.

The reliability of the launch vehicle due to a significant reduction in the number of rocket parts, as well as in the presence of hot redundancy, according to Roscosmos experts, should reach 0.99. For comparison: for the majority of rockets existing in the world with large launch statistics, this figure does not exceed 0.98.

At the first stage of flight tests, it is planned to provide at least ten flights of the reusable first stage of the Amur. However, in the future, it is planned to launch one stage up to 100 times. At the same time, the central engine of the first stage, which will be responsible for the rocket-dynamic landing, must turn on a total of 300 times. “The central engine will be responsible for landing the stage back to Earth. In each flight, it will work three times: first it will ignite at the launch of the rocket, the second time the engine will fire when the reentry stage is decelerated in dense layers of the atmosphere, and the third time it will launch at the very ground with a soft landing on its feet. If we want to launch a reusable stage 100 times in the future, then the central engine must be designed, respectively, for 300 launches," Pshenichnikov noted.

The chief expert clarified that to create such an engine, Roskosmos will not conduct 300-fold tests on Earth, but will use digital modeling methods. “According to today's standards, taking into account the goal of 300 launches, we have to take several dozen engines and bring them almost to failure, but I cannot imagine such a volume of ground tests. Accordingly, we will take a different approach to assessing the quality and reliability of engines, including with the help of mathematical modeling methods," Pshenichnikov said.

The second stage of the "Amur" will receive the same engine, but with four combustion chambers marked RD-0169V. Its thrust will increase to about 110 tons. The second stage will house one such engine. As Bloshenko noted, it is not planned to create a reusable version of the second stage, since attachments for its return, for example, a wing, as well as the need to leave fuel for the third and second engine launch, will sharply reduce the so-called constructive, or, in other words, mass, perfection of the stage (the ratio of the weight of the fuel poured into the stage to the weight of its structure, the higher the coefficient obtained, the better). A decrease in the mass perfection of the second stage, in turn, will lead to a sharp decrease in the cargo launched into space and neutralize all the potential savings from rescuing the second stage.

The first stage of "Amur" will return to the landing sites, the construction site of which is now being calculated by ballistics experts, depending on the flight trajectories of the new rocket from the Vostochny cosmodrome. “Initially, we adhere to the existing agreed areas for the fall of the Soyuz-2 steps, but we will clarify the landing sites as part of the design. It is already clear that there will be several landing sites, including on the Vostochny one. Several sites will be located on the territory of the Khabarovsk Territory, closer to the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk," said Pshenichnikov.

According to him, after braking in the atmosphere, the stage will descend to the area of the prepared site, maneuver for an accurate landing, then open the landing rods and land softly due to the third activation of the central engine. The primary maintenance of the reusable rocket unit will be carried out on the spot. As the specialist clarified, "the site will have a minimum of equipment for the primary removal of fuel components, through special technical holes, hoses will be connected to pump out the remaining methane and oxygen vapors."

Then the duty crew of the landing pad will fold the rods and rudders of the step and ensure its loading into the transport container. The unit will be transported back to the cosmodrome in two possible ways - on the external sling of a heavy Mi-26 transport helicopter or on a cargo platform along a railway line (if available in the area of the landing site).

Upon arrival of the stage at the assembly and testing complex (MIC) of Vostochny, its external examination will be carried out, as well as a check of the operability of the main components and assemblies of the engine. “We also plan to widely use non-destructive testing methods, because it makes no sense to disassemble the stage motor. That is, the design of the reusable stage itself will include the necessary and sufficient system of sensors, which with a guarantee will allow assessing its condition without dismantling the parts," Bloshenko noted.

According to Pshenichnikov, the creation of an offshore landing platform for the Amur is not yet considered, since the weather conditions in the Sea of Okhotsk greatly complicate the stable operation of such a floating platform. “However, we do not rule out landing at sea with the subsequent pick-up of the stage, including by special ships, and we will consider it within the framework of the draft design,” the specialist added.

In turn, Bloshenko noted that Rosmosmos, as a customer, does not limit the project developer in ways of rescuing and transporting the stage back to the cosmodrome. It is not excluded that an alternative variant of the landing of the stage will be worked out - in an airplane way - due to the use of folding wings. “As for the transportation of the stage from the landing site, if the developers prove that we can, for example, effectively use robots like Boston Dynamics to carry the reusable unit to the MIC area on their backs, then why not,” jokes the executive director.

A completely new ideology will be laid down for a new launch complex for a methane rocket, said representatives of Roscosmos. For the "Amur" it is not planned to build capital structures in accordance with the requirements of the Soviet model. We want to create the most lightweight launching complex, without an underground city with storage facilities in case of military threats. Its design will be simplified, including from the point of view of the launch pad requirements for potential loads, which is useless for a commercial rocket. This is also a big cost saving.

Another reason for the isolation of the methane carrier infrastructure complex on Vostochny is that a high level of service must be provided for customers, guests and tourists, and an open and comfortable observation deck must be created. “The commercial rocket should be located in a place open for visits by foreign customers in order to take them on an excursion, to show them the assembly and test complexes where their vehicles will be prepared. It is also planned to have a tourist infrastructure at this complex, hotels, places for excursions, a good modern observation deck to observe the launch," said the chief expert of the Department of Advanced Programs and the Sphere Project.

Another difference between the launch of the "Amur" is a fully automatic complex. This concept assumes that people should not carry out any operations with the rocket installed at the launch. “Now, for example, at the Soyuz-2, until the last moment, the combat crew is at the launch, the specialists walk around the farms and perform a large number of procedures. There will also be a fully automatic launch," Pshenichnikov noted. The specialist explained that such an approach will not only increase the safety of training, largely eliminating the human factor, but will also help save on labor costs.

The first launch of the new carrier is scheduled for six years. “According to the adopted plan, we must ensure the minimum launch and, accordingly, the first launch of the Amur rocket in 2026. It will be launched immediately with a payload," Bloshenko said. He stressed that for the first time in the domestic history of rocketry, it is known in advance how much this launch will cost: $ 22 million.

“For the first time, we are designing a rocket for a given cost, the minimum price of a launch service will be $ 22 million. Moreover, since the goal of all this work is to create an effective commercial product, the project includes the development of a detailed business plan at the stage of preliminary design. Specialized co-executing companies will be involved, who will say under what conditions we achieve such a launch cost, and will also show a clear time frame for the project to reach recoupment, taking into account the state of the launch services market," said the executive director.

He clarified that "the total cost of creating a rocket - from signing a contract for a sketch to the first launch in 2026 - will not exceed 70 billion rubles." Bloshenko clarified that according to the plan, the ground development of the methane engine is planned to be fully completed by the end of 2024. The infrastructure for the Amur on Vostochny, including the launch pad, will be built in parallel with the creation of the rocket and should be completed immediately by the date of the first launch of the carrier.

The new carrier, among other advantages, said Bloshenko, in the final should reduce the "palisade" of Russian launchers - one "Amur" will allow operating on the entire load range of light and medium launchers. Depending on the place of return of the first stage (along the flight path or to the cosmodrome), it is possible to carry out launches with an optimal load. Today, medium and light vehicles occupy over half of the entire launch services market, and taking into account the development of large constellations of spacecraft, including small satellites (StarLink, OneWeb, Sphere, etc.), this share will only grow. “If all the key indicators of the Amur program are achieved, we plan to provide the majority of commercial launches in the light and middle class with our new rocket,” said the corporation's executive director.

As part of the further development of the Amur program, the creation of a carrier with an increased carrying capacity or the use of the first methane stage of a rocket in a heavy carrier is also being considered. “On the basis of the block of the first stage of a methane rocket, there are already proposals from designers to create a rocket with an increased payload, which will already weigh more than 440 tons and launch over 17 tons of payload into low orbit. The same block could also potentially be used as a side block of a super-heavy rocket," Bloshenko noted.

The first oxygen-methane engine RD-0177 for the Amur-SPG rocket will appear at the end of 2023. This was announced by the director of JSC "Design Bureau of Chemical Automation" Sergey Kovalev in a video posted une 9, 2023, by Roscosmos. “Today we are creating a fundamentally new engine with a thrust of 100 tons. This is our new development. The first engine should appear at the end of this year, then go through a cycle of fire tests. All work should be completed by the end of 2025,” Kovalev said.

On 10 March 2023, the State Corporation Roscosmos signed a state contract for the development of a domestic methane launch vehicle with a reusable first stage Amur-LNG. At the same time, the completion of the technical design of the complex was planned by the end of 2024. It is known that Amur-LNG is being created at the Vostochny cosmodrome and should be designed taking into account the possibility of controlled descent of the first stage of the rocket and its subsequent reusable use for launching vehicles.

The two-stage Amur-SPG medium-class rocket, the first launch of which from the Vostochny Cosmodrome was scheduled for 2026 , will have a reusable (up to 10 times) returnable first stage, equipped with RD-0169 engines that run on oxygen and liquefied natural gas - methane . It is planned that it will replace the currently operated Soyuz-2 rockets.