Angara (rocket family)

The Angara rocket family () is a family of launch vehicles being developed by the Moscow-based Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The launch vehicles are to put between and into low Earth orbit and are intended, along with Soyuz-2 variants, to replace several existing launch vehicles.

History

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, some formerly Soviet launch vehicles required components from companies now located in Ukraine, such as Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, which produced Zenit-2, and Yuzhmash, which produced Dnepr and Tsyklon. Additionally, the Soviet Union's main spaceport, Baikonur Cosmodrome, was located in Kazakhstan, and Russia encountered difficulties negotiating for its use. This led to the decision in 1992 to develop a new entirely Russian launch vehicle, named Angara, to replace the launch vehicles now built outside of the country, and ensure Russian access to space without Baikonur. It was decided that this vehicle should ideally use the partially completed Zenit-2 launch pad at the Russian Plesetsk Cosmodrome, and be able to launch military satellites into geosynchronous orbit, which Proton could not due to lack of a launch pad at Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Several companies submitted bids for the new launch vehicle, and in 1994 Khrunichev, the developer of Proton, was selected as the winner. The commercial success of Proton over the next two decades would be an advantage to Khrunichev, as the Angara project immediately ran into funding difficulties from the cash-strapped Russian government.

Khrunichev's initial design called for the use of a modified RD-170 for first stage propulsion and a liquid hydrogen powered second stage. By 1997, the hydrogen-powered second stage had been abandoned in favor of kerosene, and the RD-170 was replaced with a modular design which would be powered by the new RD-191, a one-chamber engine derived from the four-chamber RD-170. In late 1997, Khrunichev was given approval from the Russian government to proceed with their new design, which would both be able to replace the ICBM-based Dnepr, Tsyklon, and Rokot with its smaller variants, as well as be able to launch satellites into geostationary orbit from Plesetsk with the Proton-class Angara A5.

By 2004, the design of Angara had taken shape and the project proceeded with development of the launchers. In 2008, NPO Energomash, the builder of the RD-191, reported that the engine had completed development and burn tests and was ready for manufacturing and delivery, and in January 2009 the first completed Angara first stage was delivered to Khrunichev. The next year Vladimir Nesterov, Director-General of Khrunichev, announced that the first flight test of Angara would be scheduled for 2013, and in 2013 the first prototype Angara launch vehicle arrived in Plesetsk.

In 2014, 22 years after Angara's original conception, the first launch took place on 9 July 2014, an Angara 1.2PP suborbital test flight from the northern Plesetsk Cosmodrome. On 23 December 2014, Angara A5's first test flight was performed, launching it into geosynchronous orbit.

On 14 December 2020, 6 years after the first test flight, Angara-A5's second test flight took place from Plesetsk. According to Roscosmos chief Dmitriy Rogozin speaking about future plans after the launch in December 2020, two more Angara launches were coming in 2021: an Angara-1.2 and an Angara-A5 with a new booster, Persei. Only the launch of Angara-A5 with Persei upper stage ended up happening in 2021. The maiden flight of Angara 1.2 happened on 29 April 2022.

Vehicle description

thumb|upright=1.0|left|Angara mock-ups at the [[MAKS Airshow|MAKS 2009 airshow near Moscow]]

URM-1: first stage and boosters

The Universal Rocket Module (URM-1) forms the core of every Angara vehicle. In the Angara A5, four additional URM-1s act as boosters. Each URM-1 is powered by a single NPO Energomash RD-191 burning liquid oxygen and RP-1 (kerosene).

URM-2: second stage

The second stage of the Angara, designated URM-2, uses one KBKhA RD-0124A engine also burning liquid oxygen and kerosene. The RD-0124A is nearly identical to the RD-0124 currently powering the second stage of Soyuz-2, designated Block I. The URM-2 has a diameter of for the Angara A5 and other proposed variants. The Angara 1.2 will fly a smaller RD-0124A-powered second stage, which may be to maintain commonality with Block I

Upper stages (after 2nd)

Angara 1.2 will not use an upper stage, nor will Angara A5 when delivering payloads to low orbits. The successful maiden launch of Angara 1.2 took place 29 April 2022.

Angara 1.2pp

A modified Angara 1.2, called Angara 1.2PP (Angara-1.2 pervyy polyot, meaning Angara-1.2 first flight), made Angara's inaugural suborbital flight on 9 July 2014. This flight lasted 22 minutes and carried a mass simulator weighing .

Angara A5

The second Angara developed was the heavy lift launch vehicle, the Angara A5, which consists of one URM-1 core and four URM-1 boosters, a URM-2 second stage, and an upper stage, either the Briz-M or the KVTK. Weighing 773 tonnes at lift-off, Angara A5 has a payload capacity of 24.5 tonnes to a × 60° orbit. Angara A5 is able to deliver 5.4 tonnes to GTO with Briz-M, or 7.5 tonnes to the same orbit with KVTK.

The first Angara A5 test flight was launched on 23 December 2014. The second test flight was launched on 14 December 2020 from Plesetsk. A third test flight was launched on 27 December 2021, also from Plesetsk. However, the test of Persei upper stage failed and the payload did not make it from LEO to GEO.

Proposed versions

Angara 1.1

Initial plans called for an even smaller Angara 1.1 using a Briz-KM as a second stage, with a payload capacity of 2 tonnes. This version was cancelled as it fell into the same payload class as the Soyuz 2.1v, which made its debut flight in 2013.

Angara A5P

thumb|upright|A5P

Khrunichev has proposed an Angara A5 capable of launching a new crewed spacecraft weighing up to 18 tonnes: the Angara 5P. This version would have 4 URM-1s as boosters surrounding a sustainer core URM-1 but lack a second stage, relying on the spacecraft to complete orbital insertion from a slightly suborbital trajectory, much like the Buran or Space Shuttle. This has the advantage of allowing all engines to be lit and checked out while on the ground, eliminating the possibility of an engine failing to start after staging. The RD-191 engines may also be operated at reduced thrust to improve safety.

Angara A5V

Khrunichev has proposed an upgraded Angara A5 variant featuring a new large hydrogen-based upper stage (URM-2V) to replace the existing URM-2, along with upgraded engine thrust on the URM-1 stages. The thrust upgrade on the URM-1 boosters would be approximately 10% higher during the first 40 seconds of flight, ensuring an adequate thrust-to-weight ratio even with the heavier URM-2V. Cross-feed, as well as more powerful RD-195 engines for the URM-1 stages, is also being considered. The payload capacity of the A5V is expected to be around 35–40 tonnes to LEO, depending on the final configuration.

Angara A7

Proposals exist for a heavier Angara A7, weighing 1133 tonnes and capable of putting 35 tonnes into a × 60° orbit, or delivering 12.5 tonnes to GTO with an enlarged KVTK-A7 as a second stage in place of the URM-2.

Angara-100

The Angara-100 was a 2005 proposal by Khrunichev to build a heavy-lift launch vehicle for NASA's Vision for Space Exploration. The rocket would consist of four RD-170-powered boosters, an RD-180-powered core stage, and a cryogenic upper stage using a modified Energia RD-0120 engine, the RD-0122. Its payload capacity to LEO would be in excess of 100 tons.

Baikal

Together with NPO Molniya, Khrunichev has also proposed a reusable URM-1 booster named Baikal. The URM-1 would be fitted with a wing, an empennage, a landing gear, a return flight engine and attitude control thrusters, to enable the rocket booster to return to an airfield after completing its mission.

Specifications

{| class="wikitable sticky-header"

! Version

! Angara 1.1

! Angara 1.2

! Angara A3

! Angara A5

! Angara A5P

! Angara A5V

! Angara A7

! Angara A7.2B

! Status

! Boosters

| align="center" | 2×URM-1

| align="center" colspan="3" |4×URM-1

| align="center" | 6×URM-1

! First stage

| colspan="8" align="center" | URM-1

! Second stage

| align="center" | Briz-KM

| colspan="3" align="center" | URM-2

| align="center" | URM-2V

| align="center" | KVTK-A7

| align="center" |Briz-M Blok DM-03 KVTK This would have allowed the phase out of Proton, a rocket whose operation at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan has been objected to due to its use of large amounts of highly toxic UDMH and N2O4 and reliability issues.

Launch history

|colspan=6 style="background: silver; padding-left: 1em; font-weight: bold;"|

Future Launches