Soyuz-7 (rocket)
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The Soyuz-7 () or Amur (russian: Аму́р) is a partially- reusable, methane–fueled,
orbital Orbital may refer to: Sciences Chemistry and physics * Atomic orbital * Molecular orbital * Hybrid orbital Astronomy and space flight * Orbit ** Earth orbit Medicine and physiology * Orbit (anatomy), also known as the ''orbital bone'' * Orbito ...
launch vehicle currently in the design concept stage of development by the
Roscosmos State Corporation The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
in Russia. Design began by 2020, with operational flights planned for no earlier than 2026. Amur is intended to substitute for the existing Soyuz-2, at a much lower per launch cost. This is a proposed family of new Russian rockets proposed by JSC SRC Progress in the mid-2010s, to replace the legacy Soyuz for launch after the early 2020s. JSC SRC Progress had been the manufacturer and custodian of the Soyuz family design for many decades. The new design concept was a part of Project Feniks (). While all previous iterations of the Soyuz family had their roots firmly set on the R-7
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
legacy, the new rocket, designated ''Soyuz-7'' in 2013, was to be a completely new design from the ground up. The proposed new design was to be based on a new propellant: LOX and liquid methane, use a new tank structure, new propulsion, and would do away with the famous Korolev Cross, and have thrust vector control in the main engine rather than using
vernier engines A vernier thruster is a rocket engine used on a spacecraft for fine adjustments to the attitude or velocity of a spacecraft. Depending on the design of a craft's maneuvering and stability systems, it may simply be a smaller thruster complementin ...
. It was conceived in 2013 to be a scalable family with three versions covering the medium to heavy payload ranges. The project is considered as fundamental to assure access to space for Russia, since it is transitioning exclusively to the
Angara The Angara ( Buryat and mn, Ангар, ''Angar'',  "Cleft"; russian: Ангара́, ''Angará'') is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is ...
family, and the ''Soyuz-7'' would add redundancy in case of an Angara stand down. As conceived in the mid-2010s, the smallest version was to be a 270-tonne rocket, intended as a replacement of the Soyuz-2 rocket, with an expected payload to
LEO Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...
of . It will use a single RD-0164 engine on the first stage, and a
RD-0169 RD-0169 - is a Russian oxygen-methane fueled rocket engine being developed by KBKhA. Liquefied natural gas (methane) is used as fuel, while liquid oxygen is used as an oxidizer. Designed for use in reusable launch vehicles (like Soyuz-7). The ...
engine on the second. The first engineering design was expected to be completed by 2016, and the first flight expected as early as 2022. The use of just two stages for the base version, and the simplification of subsystems was intended to product a more reliable and less-expensive launch vehicle, with the lightest version expected to be cheaper than the Soyuz-2.


History

During an interview with the Kazakhstani magazine ''Space Research and Technologies'' during 2013, Mr. Kirilin, CEO of TSKB Progress, explained the conception of the project. When the Rus-M project was cancelled, TSKB Progress started work on a methane fueled launch vehicle under the Roscosmos Magistral research program. This work was self funded by the company, and looked to replace the Soyuz vehicle and keep the vehicle design capabilities within the company. The venerable Soyuz rocket vehicle would be an approximately 60-year-old design by 2020 and it could not remain competitive with the new vehicles, like the Falcon 9. It was described by Progress CEO, Mr. Kirilin, as ''technologically and operationally hopelessly outdated''. It has conical sections, where each panel is unique, it uses six engines with 24 nozzles, most rocket manufacturing tasks include a number of manual operations, it even requires five different fluids: kerosene, liquid oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, gaseous nitrogen and gaseous helium. Looking forward, the price of RG-1 fuel was going up, since it could only be distilled from a single oil field, that, by 2015, was expected to be depleted soon. The proposed ''Soyuz-7'' would use the same diameter for all sections of the rocket, , use liquid methane and liquid oxygen, have a single engine with a single nozzle on each stage, and automate most tasks. The proposed new rocket was conceived to used the existing Soyuz pads and installations after some modifications. Liquid methane is cheap, Russia has ample reserves and it has a huge installed base. It also has some important thermal and polymerizing properties that paves the way for reusable rockets. The rocket was expected to use the
KBKhA Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (CADB), also KB Khimavtomatika (russian: Конструкторское бюро химавтоматики, КБХА, KBKhA), is a Russian design bureau founded by the NKAP (People's Commissariat of the Aircraf ...
RD-0164 engine in the core stages, and a methane version of the KBKhA
RD-0124 The RD-0124 (GRAU Index 14D23) is a rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and kerosene in a staged combustion cycle. RD-0124 engines are used on the Soyuz-2.1b and Soyuz-2-1v. A slight variation of the engine, the RD-0124A, is used on the Angara ...
in the upper stage. During an August, 2015 interview with Ria Novosti, Mr. Kirilin stated that a preliminary design was expected in 2015 or 2016, that they intended to first develop a light version, that they anticipated an initial test flight of the first prototype in 2022 and that the propulsion would be the RD-0164 for the cores and the
RD-0169 RD-0169 - is a Russian oxygen-methane fueled rocket engine being developed by KBKhA. Liquefied natural gas (methane) is used as fuel, while liquid oxygen is used as an oxidizer. Designed for use in reusable launch vehicles (like Soyuz-7). The ...
rocket engine for the upper stage. However, this project, part of
Soyuz-5 Soyuz 5 (russian: Союз 5, ''Union 5'') was a Soyuz mission using the Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union on 15 January 1969, which docked with Soyuz 4 in orbit. It was the first docking of two crewed spacecraft of any natio ...
, was abandoned when Soyuz-5 has evolved into a replacement for zenit family named Irtysh, with RKK Energia as manufacturer. The methalox rocket was later renamed to Soyuz-7. The contract for the preliminary design phase of the Amur was signed on 5 October 2020, to build "the first Russian reusable methane rocket." The design reference goals include high-reliability, operational launch cost target of , and a reusable first stage, with an expendable second stage. Roscosmos has budgeted a "not to exceed" program cost of 70 billion rubles () for the development program through the first launch. The rocket design is expected to follow the practice of
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...
with the Falcon 9 to design the first stage for reusability.Russia "Copies" SpaceX by Designing Reusable Rockets: Elon Musk Reacts
Tech Times, 5 October 2020.
and the rocket engine to be reused 100 or more times.


Versions

In the mid-2010s, ''Soyuz-7'' was conceived to be a scalable family, with three conceptual versions: * Basic version, designed to replace the Soyuz-2.1a/b rockets, would use just a first and a second stage. It was conceived to have a payload to a circular
LEO Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...
orbit of . * A three-core-stage version, designed as a crew carrier vehicle, that would use a central core and two equal cores on the side as boosters. This design concept was to have not an air-ignited second stage to eliminate air start risk. It was expected to have a payload to LEO of . * The heaviest version with maximum capability. It was expected to achieve a payload to LEO of . In 2020, Amur is planned to be a -diameter
two-stage-to-orbit A two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) or two-stage rocket launch vehicle is a spacecraft in which two distinct stages provide propulsion consecutively in order to achieve orbital velocity. It is intermediate between a three-stage-to-orbit launcher and a hyp ...
, medium-lift vehicle of height, with a gross liftoff mass of . It is aimed to deliver a payload to low Earth orbit of , but could loft if the first stage is expended and not reused, as all traditional launch vehicles of the early space age were. Amur will launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East. The first stage of the rocket will use
grid fin Grid fins (or lattice fins) are a type of flight control surface used on rockets and bombs, sometimes in place of more conventional control surfaces, such as planar fins. They were developed in the 1950s by a team led by and used since the 197 ...
s to assist with attitude control during
atmospheric reentry Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...
and is planned to be powered by five RD-0169A methane- oxygen engines, which are currently being developed at the
Chemical Automatics Design Bureau Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (CADB), also KB Khimavtomatika (russian: Конструкторское бюро химавтоматики, КБХА, KBKhA), is a Russian OKB, design bureau founded by the NKAP (People's Commissariat of the Ai ...
. The long-term target is for most of the engines to fire 100 times, but the center engine, reignited for descent through the
atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
and again for
landing operations Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
which will include extending landing legs, will be aimed to eventually reach a life expectancy of 300 engine firings. The ground test program for the new methalox-propellant engines is expected to be completed by late 2024.


See also

* Comparison of orbital launch systems * Falcon 9 * Soyuz programme * Soyuz rocket family * *


References


External links


Anatoly Zak's page on the Soyuz-7
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz-7 (Rocket) Space launch vehicles of Russia Proposed space launch vehicles Partially reusable space launch vehicles Roscosmos