Cosmodrome "Sea Launch"

Very close to Christmas Island, which is located in the Pacific Ocean, there is a rather unusual spaceport. The fact is that it is located not on land, but on a platform partially submerged in water. This is Sea Launch.

What is it for?

Like any spaceport, Sea Launch is designed to launch space rockets, or rather satellites attached to rockets. But the floating spaceport is mobile, so it can be anywhere, unlike the ground one. And all the equipment, like the rockets themselves, is easier to transport by water than by land. Launched from this platform are Zenith missile systems, which have no analogues at the moment. Thanks to its equipment, this unit is able to determine the trajectory of its own flight, while independently planning its spatial position, which itself periodically changes as needed. The rocket has a connection with the computer on board the Sea Launch, which allows for a very precise landing of the vehicle in the selected orbit.

What does Sea Launch consist of?

"Sea Launch" consists of two marine specialized vessels. The first ship is the Odyssey, the launch platform, the second is the SCS, the assembly and command ship.
The Odyssey platform was created between 1982 and 1984 and served in the field of oil production, having a drilling rig. But in 1988, the Odyssey suffered a major fire and could no longer be used for its intended purpose. In 1992-1997, a major overhaul was carried out on the platform, after which the Odyssey was completely re-equipped for the Sea Launch project. The launch platform is a semi-submersible vessel
In order to protect themselves as much as possible, all personnel are removed from the platform to the assembly and command ship at the time when the rocket is launched. This vessel has not been used anywhere before, having been created specifically for the needs of the project by a Scottish company in 1997, during the following year the vessel was finally equipped at a shipyard in St. Petersburg.
SCS has a complete set of system equipment, with the help of which it is possible to carry out a full range of missile tests and refueling of the block for acceleration, as well as to assemble the rocket on board. When a rocket is launched into orbit from this vessel, the entire process is controlled, after which all data transmitted by the rocket system enters the SCS systems. The rocket complex launched from the platform consists of the Zenit-2S rocket. It uses liquefied oxygen and kerosene as fuel, does not pollute the atmosphere at launch, has three stages and is capable of carrying up to six tons of load. Then there are two blocks: accelerating and cargo. The upper stage DM-SL was developed in Russia, the rocket was developed in Ukraine, and the United States of America is in charge of the payload in the cargo hold. Such is the international consortium.
How Sea Launch was created

What prompted such an international association? The reason is pretty simple. In the early nineties of the last century, there was one undisputed leader on the world stage of the space technology market - the Aerospasial company from France. She was engaged in launching space satellites from a floating spaceport moored in the New Guinea region, exactly on the equator. America, on the other hand, wanted to drag leadership in this profitable business over to itself. Businessmen understood that they needed to start their own offshore platform, but at the same time not to develop new rocket launchers for this business, but to take existing ones and simply refine them. It will be much more economical, therefore, bring more profit. And in 1993, the search for possible partners began. They had to be found in a short time, as the pressure of competition was growing. And after careful consideration of the available range of launch vehicles, a suitable one was found - Zenith, which had the best characteristics. So the Ukrainian enterprises Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash entered the alliance. Later they were joined by the Russian corporation Energia, which provided the upper stage for the rocket.
As a result, in 1995 a consortium of several countries was created, called the "Sea Launch Company". Most of its shares, about forty percent, were owned by the American company Boeing (more precisely, its offshoot), twenty-five percent were assigned to a Russian corporation and fifteen percent to Ukrainian enterprises. And four years later, the first rocket launch was made, which ended successfully. After that, "Sea Launch" functioned continuously for about ten years, having carried out three dozen space launches in the region. But in 2009, the consortium declared itself bankrupt, as its income turned out to be many times less than its expenses. But Sea Launch continued to function. The alliance itself underwent a reorganization, as a result of which almost all the shares ended up in Russia.

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How did the preparations for the launch of missiles from the Sea Launch platform take place?

The technical base for servicing Sea Launch vessels was originally located in America, in the Long Beach area. It was there that the rocket was installed in a vertical position on the Odyssey launch pad, after which the final check of the carrier was carried out. In this case, the rocket is already connected to the booster block and the launched satellite, the assembly was carried out in the cargo compartment. Then she is sent to the hangar and the launch platform is sent to the starting point. A few days later, an assembly and command ship follows her. The meeting of two vessels at the launch point takes place almost a week before the start of the process of launching the rocket into orbit - after the meeting, they stop next to each other and are connected by a bridge to move.
Once the missile is securely anchored in the platform launch pad, the bridge retracts and the ships move away from each other. Only a few people remain who fill the launch vehicle with combustible fuel - they are then taken away by a helicopter. After sending the rocket into orbit, both ships are sent back to the port of Long Beach.

Rocket launches from Sea Launch

The first launch, as a demonstration, was held at the end of March 1999, in the middle of autumn of this year, a commercial launch of the rocket was made, the first in the history of the project. At the time of mid-2014, thirty-six missiles had already been launched, of which only three were unsuccessful.

By what criteria was the starting point chosen?

Sea Launch is located exactly on the equator. The starting point has coordinates (rounded) of zero degrees north latitude and one hundred and fifty-four degrees west longitude. It is under these conditions that the rocket is launched with maximum efficiency, since it makes full use of the planet's rotation. The Pacific Ocean area near Christmas Island is remote from shipping routes, which means that launching missiles will not harm anyone and there is no need to focus on ship schedules. The weather conditions in this area are even, without sudden changes, with rare exceptions. There were still cases, about a couple of times, when the launch had to be postponed due to the weather. In general, the weather conditions are ideal for such operations.

"Sea Launch" now

The cosmodrome worked until the events that broke out in Ukraine. In 2014, it was decided to suspend the operation of the facility until mid-2015. In the same 2014, it was decided to abandon the use of Zenit missiles, replacing them with Angara rocket launchers. An analogue of Zenit was identified at the beginning of 2015. It is expected that this year, 2016, the cosmodrome will again begin to operate in full force.
There are rumors about the sale of part of the Sea Launch shares. And the latest news confirms them. Roskosmos announced that it had found a buyer for its stake. True, the company's management does not disclose the details of the transaction, as well as who the buyer is. It was expected that by the end of April more information would become known, but nothing has been clarified so far. Another version of the future development of the cosmodrome is based on the assumption that the technical base for servicing ships will be transferred to the coast of Brazil. But these data do not yet have any confirmation.

India

Another Asian giant actively developing its rocket technology is India. First of all, this is due to the improvement of the nuclear missile potential in the confrontation with China and Pakistan. At the same time, national space programs are being implemented along the way.

Indian launch vehicles

In the south of the state of Andhra Pradesh, on the island of Sriharikota in the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Satish Dhawan Space Center was built.

It is named after the former head of the space center, after his death. The spaceport is owned by the Indian Space Research Organization. Proximity to the equator is one of the undoubted advantages of the spaceport. The first launch from the spaceport took place on July 18, 1980.

Launch of the Indian light launch vehicle ASLV

There are two launch sites at the cosmodrome and a third one is under construction. In addition to launch complexes for rockets for various purposes, the cosmodrome has a tracking station, two assembly and test complexes, and special stands for testing rocket engines. A plant for the production of rocket fuel was built on the territory of the cosmodrome.

Satellite image of Google Earth: launcher at the Sriharikota spaceport

From the cosmodrome, launches are carried out: light type ASLV, launch weight 41,000 kg and heavy type GSLV, launch weight up to 644,750 kg.

India is one of the very few space powers that independently launches communication satellites into geostationary orbit (the first GSAT-2 - 2003), returnable spacecraft (SRE - 2007) and automatic interplanetary stations to the Moon (Chandrayan-1 - 2008). ) and provides international launch services.

GSLV launch vehicle being transported to launch position

India has its own manned space program and is expected to start manned space flights on its own from 2016 and become the fourth space superpower. Russia is helping a lot in this.

Japan

The largest Japanese spaceport is the Tanegashima Space Center.

The spaceport is located on the southeast coast of Tanegashima, in the south of Kagoshima Prefecture, 115 km south of Kyushu. It was founded in 1969 and is operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Satellite image of Google Earth: Tanegashima Spaceport"

Here they assemble, test, launch and monitor satellites, as well as test rocket engines. Heavy Japanese heavy launch vehicles H-IIA and H-IIB are launched from the cosmodrome, the launch weight is up to 531,000 kg.

Launch of the H-IIB launch vehicle

These are the main launch vehicles launched from the cosmodrome, in addition to them, light geophysical rockets intended for suborbital scientific research are also launched from here.

The launch pad for the H-IIA and H-IIB- missiles includes two launch pads with service towers. LV H-IIA - are transported and installed on the sites in a fully assembled form.

Japan's second spaceport is the Uchinoura Space Center. It is located on the Pacific coast near the Japanese city of Kimotsuki (formerly Uchinoura), in Kagoshima Prefecture. The construction of the Space Center, intended for experimental launches of large rockets, began in 1961 and was completed in February 1962. Until the formation of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in 2003, it was designated as the Kagoshima Space Center and operated under the auspices of the Institute of Cosmonautics and Aeronautics.

Satellite image of Google Earth: Uchinoura cosmodrome

The spaceport has four launchers. Solid-propellant launch vehicles of the Mu light class with a launch weight of up to 139,000 kg will be launched from the Utinoura cosmodrome.

They were used for all launches of Japanese spacecraft for scientific purposes, as well as geophysical and meteorological rockets.

launch of the Mu-5 launch vehicle

The Mu-5 should be replaced by the Epsilon rocket, which, although it can put a slightly smaller payload into low Earth orbit than the Mu-5, should become much cheaper.

Japan, in addition to launching commercial and scientific satellites, participates in a number of international programs. The Mu-5 launch vehicle launched the Nozomi satellites for Mars exploration and the Hayabusa spacecraft, which explored the Itokawa asteroid. The latest launch, during which the Solar-B and HIT-SAT satellites, as well as the SSSAT solar sail, were launched into orbit, cargo is delivered to the ISS using the H-IIB launch vehicle.

Brazil

Another South American spaceport after the French Kourou was the Brazilian Alcantara Launch Center, in the north of the country's Atlantic coast. It is located even closer to the equator than the French Kourou.

Brazil's attempts to develop its own space programs, due to lack of experience, low scientific and technological base, did not lead to the desired result.

Brazilian VLS-1 launch vehicle

The next tests on August 22, 2003 of the Brazilian VLS-1 launch vehicle of a light class ended in tragedy. The rocket exploded on the launch pad two days before launch.

The explosion killed 21 people. This incident had an extremely negative impact on the entire Brazilian space program.

Satellite image of the starting position of the Alcantara spaceport after the explosion

Not being able to build its own effective launch vehicles, Brazil is trying to develop the spaceport in the framework of international cooperation. In 2003, contracts were signed for the launch of Ukrainian Cyclone-4 and Israeli Shavit launch vehicles. There are plans to conclude similar contracts for the Russian "Protons" and the Chinese "Great Campaign - 4".

Israel

At the Palmachim air base, located next to Kibbutz Palmachim, not far from the cities of Rishon Lezion and Yavne, a launch center was built to launch Shavit missiles and other missiles. The first launch took place on September 19, 1988. Rocket launches are carried out not in the east, as in the vast majority of spaceports, but in the west, that is, against the rotation of the Earth. This, of course, reduces the weight thrown into orbit. The reason for this is that the launch path can only be laid over the Mediterranean Sea: the lands to the east of the base are densely populated, and at the same time, neighboring countries are located quite close.

Israel launched the space program because of a defensive need, both for intelligence (tracking a potential enemy using satellites) and for programs to create missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

night launch of the carrier rocket "Shafit"

The Israeli Shavit launch vehicle is a three-stage solid-propellant rocket. The first two stages are identical, have a weight of 13 tons each, and are mass-produced in Israel by the IAI concern. The third stage was built by Rafael and weighs 2.6 tons. The Shavit launch vehicle was launched eight times between 1988 and 2010. This missile can be used as a carrier of a nuclear warhead. With the help of the Shavit rocket, Israeli Ofek reconnaissance satellites are launched. The Ofek (horizon) satellites were developed in Israel by the IAI concern. In total, by 2010, nine Ofek satellites had been created.

The State of Israel has a developed radio-electronic industry, which makes it possible to create sufficiently advanced satellites for any purpose. But due to the small territory and geographical circumstances, in this country there is no possibility of building a cosmodrome from which it would be possible to carry out safe launches of launch vehicles along effective trajectories. Israeli telecommunications and scientific satellites are put into orbit during commercial launches of foreign launch vehicles from spaceports abroad. At the same time, Israel demonstrates a desire to develop its own space programs and launch military satellites into orbit using its own launch vehicles. In this regard, negotiations are underway with a number of states, primarily with the United States and Brazil, on the possibility of launching Israeli missiles from spaceports located on their territory.

Iran

The Iranian Semnan cosmodrome has been operating since February 2, 2009, when the Iranian Omid satellite was launched into orbit using the Safir (Messenger) launch vehicle.

The cosmodrome is located in the Deshte-Kevir desert (northern Iran), near its administrative center - the city of Semnan.

Iranian launch vehicle "Safir"

The Safir light class launch vehicle was created on the basis of the Shahab-3/4 medium-range combat ballistic missile.

Satellite image of Google Earth: the launch pad of the Semnan cosmodrome

The Semnan spaceport has disadvantages and limitations due to its location, as a result of which the Iranian Space Agency intends to start construction of a second spaceport for launching spacecraft, which will be located in the south of the country.

North Korea

In the early 1980s, in North Korea on the east coast, in the county of Hwadae-gun in the province of Hamgyongbuk-do, the construction of a missile test site began, which later became known as the Donghae launch site.

North Korean ballistic missiles

The choice of the location of the test site was influenced by such factors as a sufficient distance from the demilitarized zone, minimizing the danger of missiles flying over the territory of neighboring countries, the general distance from large settlements, and relatively favorable meteorological factors.

In the period from the mid-80s to the early 90s, a command post, a control center, a fuel storage facility, warehouses, a test bench were built, communications were modernized.

In the early 90s, test launches of North Korean ballistic missiles began to be carried out here.

Satellite image: Donghae Cosmodrome

American and Japanese air defense and space control systems have repeatedly recorded medium and long-range missile launches from the Donghae launch site.

Test launch of the launch vehicle "Eunha-2"

Some of them were regarded as attempts to launch artificial satellites into space orbit. According to the DPRK news agency, on April 5, 2009, an experimental artificial communications satellite Kwangmyongsong-2 was launched from the cosmodrome using the Eunha-2 launch vehicle. Despite conflicting reports from sources from different countries, most likely, the launch of the satellite into orbit ended in failure.

The Republic of Korea

The construction of the South Korean Naro Spaceport, located near the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula, on the island of Venarado, began in August 2003.

On August 25, 2009, the first Korean launch vehicle, called Naro-1, was launched from the cosmodrome. The launch ended in failure - due to a failure during the separation of the fairing, the satellite did not enter the calculated orbit. On June 10, 2010, the second launch of the launch vehicle also ended in failure.

Satellite image of Google Earth: Naro spaceport

The third successful launch of the Naro-1 (KSLV-1) launch vehicle took place on January 30, 2013, making South Korea the 11th space nation.

The launch was broadcast live by local TV channels, the rocket reached a predetermined altitude and launched the STSAT-2C research satellite into orbit.

Launch of Naro-1

The Naro-1 light-class rocket, with a launch weight of up to 140,600 kg, was produced by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) jointly with Korean Air and the Russian Khrunichev Space Center. According to South Korean media reports, KSLV-1 repeats 80% of the Angara launch vehicle, created at the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.

Floating spaceport "Sea Launch" ("Odyssey")

In 1995, the Sea Launch Company (SLC) consortium was established as part of international space cooperation. It included: the American company Boeing Commercial Space Company (a subsidiary of the Boeing aerospace corporation), which provides general management and financing (40% of the capital), the Russian Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (25%), the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye Design Bureau ( 5%) and PO Yuzhmash (10%), as well as the Norwegian shipbuilding company Aker Kværner (20%). The headquarters of the consortium is located in the California city of Long Beach. As executors under the contracts, the Russian Design Bureau of Transport Engineering and the Rubin Central Design Bureau were involved.

The idea of ​​a naval spaceport is to deliver a launch vehicle by sea to the equator, where there are the best launch conditions (you can use the Earth's rotation speed as efficiently as possible). This method was used in 1964-1988 at the San Marco Marine Spaceport, which was a fixed moored platform near the equator in Kenyan territorial waters.

The sea segment of the Sea Launch complex consists of two sea vessels: the Odyssey Launch Platform (SP) and the Sea Launch Commander Assembly and Command Vessel (ACS).

Complex "Sea Launch"

The launch platform used was the former OCEAN ODYSSEY self-propelled oil platform built in Yokosuka, Japan in 1982-1984. The platform corresponded to the class for an unrestricted navigation area. The platform was badly damaged in a fire on September 22, 1988. After the fire, the platform was partially dismantled, and it was no longer used for its intended purpose. In 1992, the platform was repaired and re-equipped at the Vyborg Shipyard. It was decided to use it in the Sea Launch project. "Odysseus" has very impressive dimensions: length 133 m, width 67 m, height 60 m, displacement 46 thousand tons.

Launch platform "Odyssey"

In 1996-1997 at the Norwegian shipyard "Rosenberg" in Stavanger, special launch equipment was mounted on the platform, and it became known as "Odyssey". The second stage of re-equipment of the joint venture took place at the Vyborg shipyard.

The assembly and command ship (SCS) "Sea Launch Commander" was built specifically for the Sea Launch project by Kvaerner Govan Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland in 1997. In 1998, the SCS was re-equipped at the Kanonersky Shipyard, St. Petersburg. The SCS is equipped with systems and equipment that allow carrying out complex tests of the launch vehicle and upper stage on board, refueling the upper stage with fuel and oxidizer components, and assembling the launch vehicle.

Assembly and command ship "Sea Launch Commander"

The SCS also performs the functions of the MCC during the preparation and launch of the launch vehicle. The SCS houses the command post for upper stage flight control and means for receiving and processing telemetry. Characteristics of the SCS: length 203 m, width 32 m, height 50 m, displacement 27 thousand tons, maximum speed 21 knots.

Satellite image of Google Earth: the Sea Launch complex at the Long Beach parking lot

The Sea Launch floating cosmodrome uses medium-class launch vehicles Zenit-2S and Zenit-3SL, with a launch weight of up to 470,800 kg.

In "Zenith", unlike many domestic launch vehicles, toxic hydrazine and an aggressive oxidizing agent are not used. Kerosene is used as fuel, and oxygen serves as an oxidizer, which makes the rocket environmentally friendly. In total, from March 27, 1999, to February 1, 2013, 35 launches were carried out from a floating platform.

The starting point is the Pacific Ocean with coordinates 0°00′ N.L. 154°00′ W near Christmas Island. According to statistics collected over 150 years, this section of the Pacific Ocean is considered by experts to be the calmest and most remote from sea routes. However, already a couple of times difficult weather conditions forced the launch to be postponed for several days.

Unfortunately, the Sea Launch program is currently experiencing serious financial difficulties, it has been declared bankrupt and the future is uncertain. According to Kommersant, losses resulted from the fact that it was not possible to ensure the planned intensity of launches: it was originally planned to carry out 2-3 consecutive launches in one exit to the starting position. The low reliability of the Zenit launch vehicle also played a negative role; out of 80 launches of the Zenit launch vehicles, 12 ended in an accident.

Vitaly Lopota, the head of Energia Rocket and Space Corporation (RKK), proposed transferring control over the Sea Launch project to the state. And carry out launches from it within the framework of the Federal Space Program. However, the government of the Russian Federation does not see the need for this.

Representatives of business from a number of countries - China, Australia, and the USA - are showing interest in Sea Launch. There is interest from large companies such as Lockheed Martin. If desired, Russia could become the owner of this unique complex, making it based in the ports of Sovetskaya Gavan, Nakhodka or Vladivostok.

According to materials:
http://geimint.blogspot.ru/2007/07/fire-from-space.html
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport
http://georg071941.ru/kosmodromyi-ssha
http://www.walkinspace.ru/blog/2010-12-22-588
http://sea-launch.narod.ru/2013.htm
All satellite imagery courtesy of Google Earth

Moscow. September 27. site - S7 Group has signed a contract with the Sea Launch group of companies to acquire the property complex of the Sea Launch project, RSC Energia reports.

"Today, within the framework of the International Astronautical Congress IAC-2016 in Guadalajara (Mexico), a contract was signed providing for the purchase of the Sea Launch property complex - S7 Group signed a contract with the Sea Launch group of companies. The subject of the transaction: the Sea Launch Commander ship and the Odyssey platform with installed on them with rocket segment equipment, ground equipment in the base port of Long Beach (USA) and the Sea Launch trademark.

The closing of the transaction is planned in six months - after receiving approval from the relevant US authorities and signing a number of agreements that are part of this transaction.

Also, RSC Energia and S7 Group signed an agreement on cooperation and joint work on the resumption of operation of the Sea Launch complex. RSC Energia will provide S7 Group with the necessary engineering support, assistance in organizing launches and in system integration work.

The joint activities of RSC Energia and S7 Group also provide for cooperation aimed at creating transport infrastructure in space.

S7 Group CEO Vladislav Filev said that "it is planned to withdraw the complex from mothballing and start launching activities 18 months after the approval of the transaction - approximately at the end of 2018."

"The acquisition of the spaceport is our entrance ticket to the space industry. Space infrastructure is developing very rapidly, this is a very interesting line of business that has good long-term prospects. We expect that without large investments in the modernization of Sea Launch we will be able to make up to 70 launches per for 15 years. Our approach to doing business is fundamentally different from many companies - we will not sell promises, we will only sell launches on ready-made launch vehicles. Rockets first, and only then - the buyer, "- are given in a press release from RKK" Energy" words by Filev.

What is "Sea Launch"

"Sea Launch" (Sea Launch) - a floating spaceport for launching rockets, as well as the international consortium of the same name for the operation of the spaceport. The complex was created to provide services for launching spacecraft for various purposes from a sea-based mobile launch platform to near-Earth orbits. The launch point is located in the equatorial zone of the Pacific Ocean, where there are the best conditions for launching due to the efficient use of the Earth's rotation speed. The first launch from the platform took place in 1999.

The Sea Launch company was established in 1995 to implement the project of the same name. Boeing, the Russian RSC Energia, the Norwegian shipbuilding company Kvaerner (now Aker Solutions), the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and the Yuzhmash Production Association became its founders. In the summer of 2009, the Sea Launch company declared bankruptcy, and after the reorganization, the leading role in the project was given to RSC Energia.

Project sale

In 2014-2015 the Russian side held negotiations with the United States, China, Brazil, the UAE and Australia on the sale of the project. On March 30, 2016, Roskosmos announced the imminent closing of the transaction for the sale of the project.

In June 2016, Roscosmos again held talks with Australia on the sale of Sea Launch.

In August 2016, the Russian rocket and space corporation Energia and the American company Boeing resolved the dispute over the Sea Launch project. Under the terms of the preliminary agreement, the Russian side will repay the debt, estimated at $330 million, by providing services and participating in joint projects. It is also planned to write off part of the debt. The specific amount is not called. A preliminary agreement was signed with Boeing to settle the Sea Launch dispute, in connection with which the court in the United States suspended all actions to collect the debt. However, for the final adoption of the settlement agreement, it is necessary that it be approved by the board of directors of Energia and approved by Roscosmos.

At the end of September, the largest private Russian air carrier S7 Group bought the assets of the Sea Launch floating cosmodrome from the Sea Launch group for about $160 million: the Sea Launch Commander ship, the Odyssey sea launch platform and the ground complex in the US base port of Long Beach. Some were quick to call the head and co-owner of S7, Vladislav Filev, a short-sighted businessman (recently, Sea Launch brought only gigantic losses), who was circled around his finger, slipped substandard, others immediately dubbed the Russian Elon Musk. In fact, both of them are far from the truth. Partners and friends speak of Vladislav as an entrepreneur who meticulously calculates all the risks. So, at a meeting with Popular Mechanics, Vladislav Filev did not let go of his pencil for a minute: he drew diagrams, calculated and gave out a huge array of numbers from memory. And we talked with him about floating spaceports, launch vehicles, the future of astronautics - in general, about what we dreamed about in childhood.

Vladislav Filev is directly related to cosmonautics: after graduating from the A.F. Mozhaisky Military Engineering Institute (now the Military Space Academy), from 1985 to 1993 he served in the Strategic Missile Forces as a military engineer. And when asked if he considers the acquisition of Sea Launch a good idea, he answers without hesitation: “For our country, this is a brilliant idea. Because we do not have territories for a ground spaceport at the equator.”

When launched from the equator, a space rocket can lift more payload into orbit, effectively using the speed of the Earth's rotation. Sea Launch was launched from the equatorial zone in the Pacific Ocean near Christmas Island. The first commercial launch took place in October 1999, the last (to date) - in May 2014.

ahead of time

The very appearance of such a project as Sea Launch can be called a miracle. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, our country really wanted to enter the world space launch market. We had tremendous experience in putting cargo into orbit, but we knew nothing about the functioning of this market. In addition, in the West they did not trust us very much, and at the mention of the military load they stopped talking altogether. On the other hand, the United States was rapidly losing in commercial launches to the French company Aerospatiale, which launches satellites using Ariane launch vehicles from the equatorial region. The Americans had neither a suitable launch vehicle nor an equatorial spaceport. When the general director of the Energia rocket and space concern, Yuri Semyonov, proposed to Boeing the joint implementation of the Sea Launch project, this unexpectedly found support at all levels. Incredibly, this fantastic idea united four countries at once: Russia, the USA, Norway and Ukraine, which are now simply impossible to sit at the same table. And each side was irreplaceable.

Ukraine supplied Zenit-3SL, a naval modification of the most advanced Zenit-2 launch vehicle at that time. This complex was created as a weapon of the last day: in an emergency, when all satellites were disabled, it could launch rockets every 2-6 hours, quickly restoring the orbital constellation. "Zenith" was the only one in the world that was able to automatically perform pre-launch operations and directly launch - and this is a necessary condition for launching from an offshore platform, because there should not be people there. The most modern control system at that time determined the position of the rocket in space and chose the optimal trajectory. Unique properties can be listed for a long time. Since Zenit was created for military needs, the Dnepropetrovsk Design Bureau Yuzhnoye was appointed the main developer, and the Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant, which specialized in combat missiles in the USSR, was appointed the manufacturer.

The Norwegian company Kvaerner manufactured the marine part - the assembly and command ship Sea Launch Commander and the unique self-propelled submersible launch platform Odyssey. The platform was rebuilt from the self-propelled oil platform Ocean Odyssey, which was launched in Japan in 1982. Six years later, she burned down in the North Sea and was rebuilt.

RSC Energia made the upper stage DM-SL for Zenit-3SL and was responsible for the installation of the launch complex on the Odyssey platform at the Vyborg Shipyard (the ground-based launch complex Zenit at Baikonur was taken as the basis). In addition, Russia supplied about 70% of components to Dnepropetrovsk, including the best RD-171 first-stage rocket engine at that time.

The Boeing company, which solved all the issues of marketing and searching for foreign customers, developed and manufactured the nose block of the payload with a fairing. Western customers were afraid of leaks of secret technologies like hell. The payload compartment was assembled in the building of the coastal complex in the port of Long Beach without the access of Russian specialists and hermetically sealed. Only after that did it dock with the launch vehicle, which was delivered by sea to Long Beach from Ukrainian Nikolaev.

We list all of this in such detail as to give at least a superficial idea of ​​the unprecedented complexity of international cooperation in the Sea Launch project, the initial cost of which exceeded $ 3.5 billion. Nevertheless, the company failed to ensure the profitability of the project, and in 2009 it went bankrupt, RSC Energia bought almost all the shares and, after numerous attempts at resuscitation, sold the project to Vladislav Filev.

No alternative

The main problem of the current Sea Launch is not in marketing, but in the fact that the launch vehicle is produced in Ukraine and it is impossible to replace it: Zenit-3SL approaches the launch complex like a key to a lock. However, the optimist Filev considers this a success: if Russia and Ukraine had not quarreled, he would not have been allowed near this complex. For S7 Group, Sea Launch is an entrance ticket to the space business. Entering the topic for such a small amount is good luck. “I am from a generation that made rockets and huge space systems,” says Vladislav, “and I would be offended if only the iPhone remains after us.” He does not consider the purchase of the cosmodrome to be charity, but considers it as a commercial project, listing the arguments. The first is the availability of a ready-made, very modern launch complex even by today's standards. The second is the existence of a serious backlog. The third is the absence of a heavy missile in the country. Russia still needs to put cargo into orbit, especially civilian ones - the military is thrown by the super-expensive Angara. Scientific and commercial tasks will have to be solved differently.

With regard to Zenit, Vladislav Filev is cautiously optimistic. Yes, "Sea Launch" is sharpened strictly for "Zeniths", and they can only be produced in Dnepropetrovsk. But the space theme has always been aloof from politics. For example, no matter how strained the relations between the USSR and the USA were, cooperation on space programs never stopped. “Space may turn out to be the very thread that will connect Russia and Ukraine,” Filev smiles, “I hope that it will remain the industry where cooperation is still possible.” Filev's other argument is the family of RD-171 rocket engines, which are produced in Khimki at NPO Energomash using the most sophisticated Rocket Science technologies. Developed in the late 70s, this engine is still out of competition, it is not for nothing that the Americans put the RD-180 and RD-181 engines created on its basis on their launch vehicles: the United States still cannot develop analogues. Actually, now the States are the only customer of this family: after the collapse of the USSR, Russia does not have its own carrier for an advanced rocket engine. Americans periodically threaten to stop purchases. And if this happens, Russia will either have to close the plant or come to an agreement with Ukraine, Filev believes. And Ukraine also has no alternative.

Filev is skeptical about copying Zenith at Russian enterprises. “Why repeat the same rocket in forty years? he chuckles. - All the same, it will be necessary to lay down new elements and solutions that would allow the new rocket to be better, cheaper, more efficient. I believe that our country is doomed to make rockets. However, you cannot leave the complex and wait for a new rocket to be made, for three reasons. First, we will lose technology. The second is people. Third, when we finally make a rocket, the market will be busy. Zenit is a key element for us that will not allow us to be squeezed out of the market.”

We need a missile T-34

Vladislav Filev does not like comparisons with Elon Musk and does not share his passion for reusable rockets. We have already gone through this: the side boosters of Energia were originally designed as reusable ones, and the same legendary RD-171 was designed for twenty inclusions. From an economic point of view, none of this works. In the engine, after returning, a lot needs to be changed - both the nozzle and the combustion chamber. All that's left is the high pressure pump. And if you do the math, it's not worth the cost of returning. On the other hand, Filev believes that a disposable launch vehicle can be made much cheaper. The cost of manufacturing a first-class gearbox with an accuracy of 20 microns (30 times thinner than a human hair) by the Germans in a small-scale method is now 50 euros per 1 kg. The cost of a modern aircraft engine, such as the CFM56, is $4,000 per 1 kg. A rocket engine is produced at a cost of about $1,000. Vladislav Filev believes that if they are produced not in a small batch, but on a stream, then the cost can be lowered to $500 or less. “To do this, you need to make a standard product, produce rockets like pies. Filev carefully searches for words. — We need a missile T-34. Which no one will win. We don’t need to compete with the Americans in returnability, we need rocket-powered pies.”

Hybrid hypersonic air-jet engines SABER will use oxygen from the air when flying in the lower atmosphere and liquid - from fuel tanks - at altitude. Developers from Reaction Engines Ltd. they plan to install them on Skylon spaceplanes, which will be able to reach orbit at one stage and many times cheaper than today.

Not a plane or a rocket

But it's all real. When we start talking about the future, Filev's eyes light up. Nothing new has yet been invented after Wernher von Braun, he believes. Even the revolutionary MiG-25s were made in the distant sixties. Today, aircraft have become a little more reliable and economical, but there has been no breakthrough in performance. In rocket science, things are even worse: rockets have become neither more economical nor more reliable, but have become much more expensive. Almost all modern developments are based on ideas put forward by Wernher von Braun. But there is one experiment in the world that can become revolutionary, destroy the difference between a rocket and an airplane. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, three engineers at Rolls-Royce came up with the idea for a revolutionary new Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, the SABER, which initially operates as a turbojet using sea air as an oxidizer. In the second stage of the flight, it acts as a ramjet. And on the third - like a conventional rocket engine, using an internal onboard oxidizer. Not getting support from Rolls-Royce, they founded their own company, Reaction Engines, and set to work on development. As individual superdrive technologies became ready, so did investments in the project: first the British government, then British Aerospace, then, they say, the Pentagon. More recently, the founders of Reaction Engines said that the first flight is planned for 2029. Now they are calling 2024. This plane will put 1300 kg into a circular orbit. This is the possible future.

Why does Russia need the Sea Launch project, and do disposable missiles have any prospects?

Vladislav Filev, head and co-owner of S7

I am from a generation that made rockets and huge space systems, and I would be offended if only the iPhone remains after us. For our country, Sea Launch is a brilliant idea. Because Russia does not have territories for a ground spaceport at the equator. I hope that space will remain an industry where international cooperation is possible. Disposable rockets have a future if their cost can be significantly reduced. I believe that our country is doomed to make rockets. It is necessary to produce a standard product, to produce rockets like pies. We need a missile T-34, which we will mass-produce and which no one will defeat. We do not need to compete with the Americans in terms of returnability, we need rocket-powered pies.