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Lavochkinor Tekos

In 1990 the Lavochkin NPO announced plans to enter the microgravity services market with its own spacecraft, generally referred to as Lavochkin or Mercury. The original prospectus indicated a spacecraft mass of 5,600 kg and a payload mass of 500 kg. The descent module which was conical in shape and had a mass of 2,900 kg. Electrical power was to be supplied by two solar panels with a 4.5 kW capacity. Mission durations of up to two years in orbits of 500 km and 97.7 degree inclinations were anticipated by 1993-94 with the aid of a modified RS-20 ICBM launch vehicle (References 800-802).

By 1991 the project had matured to include a new spacecraft design and a host of available materials science equipment. The current design calls for a spacecraft, called Lavochkinor Tekos, with a mass of 5,500 kg with a spherical 2.2 m diameter reentry capsule (based on the Venera reentry module) of 2 metric tons and a payload mass of 900 kg and volume of 4-4.5 m (Figure 4.105). Solar-generated electrical power capacity will remain at 4.5 kW. Also unchanged was a goal of flight duration up to two years in a 500-km, 98 degree-orbit, launched by a modified RS-20. The maiden flight of the spacecraft was set for 1994, but delays of two or more years are anticipated. Expected microgravity conditions were 10⁴ - 10⁵ g (References 803-806).

To sweeten the commercial package, Lavochkin NPO has teamed with specialists in the Russian materials science community to provide specific semiconductor and pharmaceutical microgravity devices for Tekos. Three electrophoresis instruments are being prepared (Potok, Meduza, and Shtamm) along with the Biocryst facility for the production of biocrystals. The Krater-AG furnace will have the capacity of handling sample cartridges 76 mm in diameter and 200 mm in length at temperatures of up to 1,270 degree C and total operations of 5,000 hours. Lavochkin NPO has estimated that 100 kg of gallium arsenide and 20 kg of other semi-conductor materials could be produced on a single mission.