The Soyuz Launch Vehicle (eBook)

The Two Lives of an Engineering Triumph

Christian Lardier, Stefan Barensky (Autoren)

eBook Download: PDF

2013 | 2013
XII, 500 Seiten
Springer New York (Verlag)
978-1-4614-5459-5 (ISBN)

Infos

'The Soyuz Launch Vehicle' tells the story, for the first time in a single English-language book, of the extremely successful Soyuz launch vehicle. Built as the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Soyuz was adapted to launch not only Sputnik but also the first man to orbit Earth, and has been in service for over fifty years in a variety of forms. It has launched all Soviet manned spacecraft and is now the only means of reaching the International Space Station. It was also the workhorse for launching satellites and space probes and has recently been given a second life in French Guiana, fulfilling a commercial role in a joint venture with France. No other launch vehicle has had such a long and illustrious history.
This remarkable book gives a complete and accurate description of the two lives of Soyuz, chronicling the recent cooperative space endeavors of Europe and Russia. The book is presented in two parts: Christian Lardier chronicles the 'first life' in Russia while Stefan Barensky explores its 'second life,' covering Starsem, the Franco-Russian company and implementation of technology for the French Guiana Space Agency by ESA. Part One has been developed from Russian sources, providing a descriptive approach to very technical issues. The second part of the book tells the contemporary story of the second life of Soyuz, gathered from Western sources and interviews with key protagonists.
'The Soyuz Launch Vehicle' is a detailed description of a formidable human adventure, with its political, technical, and commercial ramifications. At a time when a new order was taking shape in the space sector, the players being the United States, Russia, Europe and Asia, and when economic difficulties sometimes made it tempting to give up, this book reminds us that in the global sector, nothing is impossible.

Christian Lardier has been space editor at Air & Cosmos (www.air-cosmos.com), an aerospace industry news source since 1994, and is the author of several magazine articles as well as the book 'La cosmonautique soviétque' (Armand Colin, 1992). From 1991 to 1996, Lardier was accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow. To write this book, 'The Soyuz Launch Vehicle,' Lardier worked with specialists at the State Research and Production Space-Rocket Center of Samara.
 
Born in 1965, Stefan Barensky is a professional science and technology writer. He has been reporting on space technologies and industries since 1991 as an editor for multiple French and international space, trade, and political publications such as 'Science & Vie,' 'Interavia,' 'Air & Cosmos,' 'Aero Defense News,' and 'European Voice.' A former space transportation analyst at Euroconsult and Launchspace, and editor-in-chief of the Orbital Launcher Report monthly newsletter, he also witnessed the gradual Westernizing of Soyuz from the inside as an editorial consultant to Aerospatiale (now Astrium), Arianespace, CNES, ESA.

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"e;The Soyuz Launch Vehicle"e; tells the story, for the first time in a single English-language book, of the extremely successful Soyuz launch vehicle. Built as the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Soyuz was adapted to launch not only Sputnik but also the first man to orbit Earth, and has been in service for over fifty years in a variety of forms. It has launched all Soviet manned spacecraft and is now the only means of reaching the International Space Station. It was also the workhorse for launching satellites and space probes and has recently been given a second life in French Guiana, fulfilling a commercial role in a joint venture with France. No other launch vehicle has had such a long and illustrious history. This remarkable book gives a complete and accurate description of the two lives of Soyuz, chronicling the recent cooperative space endeavors of Europe and Russia. The book is presented in two parts: Christian Lardier chronicles the "e;first life"e; in Russia while Stefan Barensky explores its "e;second life,"e; covering Starsem, the Franco-Russian company and implementation of technology for the French Guiana Space Agency by ESA. Part One has been developed from Russian sources, providing a descriptive approach to very technical issues. The second part of the book tells the contemporary story of the second life of Soyuz, gathered from Western sources and interviews with key protagonists. "e;The Soyuz Launch Vehicle"e; is a detailed description of a formidable human adventure, with its political, technical, and commercial ramifications. At a time when a new order was taking shape in the space sector, the players being the United States, Russia, Europe and Asia, and when economic difficulties sometimes made it tempting to give up, this book reminds us that in the global sector, nothing is impossible.

Inhalt

The Soyuz Launch Vehicle 4
Contents 6
Foreword 10
Introduction 12
October 21, 2011 14
Part One – Soyuzin the East 17
1 The V-2's heir 18
TAKING OVER THE V-2 MISSILES 20
THE GUNNERS LEARN TO USE ROCKETS 21
THE SOVIETS IN GERMANY 25
THE BERLIN AND NORDHAUSEN INSTITUTES 26
THE GERMANS IN THE SOVIET UNION 31
THE DECREE OF MAY 13, 1946 33
INSTITUTE N°88 35
THE FIRST BALLISTIC ROCKETS 37
KOROLEV'S ROCKETS 40
THE FIRST STRATEGIC MISSILE 44
CONSTRUCTING BAIKONUR 52
THE CONSTRUCTION ARMY 55
THE DECREE OF APRlL 14, 1955 56
2 Designing the Semyorka 58
THE SEMYORKA LAUNCH PLATFORM 63
THE LAUNCH 68
THE TRACKING NETWORK 70
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEMYORKA 71
THER-7A 76
THE FIRST "SPUTNIK" 80
3 The council of chief designers 86
THE FATHER OF THE SEMYORKA 86
TAMING THE FIRE 97
THE UPPER STAGE ENGINES 101
FATHER OF THE "BEEP–BEEP" 103
TELEMETRY AND TRAJECTOGRAPHY 107
GUIDANCE SYSTEMS 109
GYROSCOPES 111
LAUNCH PLATFORMS 114
4 Korolev's subsidiaries 119
DMITRI KOZLOV 120
"PROGRESS" PLANT N°1 125
PLANT N°24 "MOTOROSTROITEL" 132
TSSKB SATELLITES 133
5 The various versions 151
THE R-7/R-7A ICBM 151
THE THREE-STAGE 8K72 154
THE FOUR-STAGE 8K78 "MOLNIYA" 160
8K78M 167
8A91 171
8A92 171
8A92M 171
11A55 AND 11A56 173
11A57 174
11A58 177
11A59 177
11A510 179
11A511 179
SOYUZ-2 "RUS" 189
YAMAL 192
AURORA 193
ONEGA 195
SOYUZ-2-3 196
SOYUZ-1 198
CONCLUSION 198
6 The launch bases 200
BAIKONUR 200
PLESETSK 209
Part Two – Soyuz in the West 218
7 A fantasy launcher 219
WAVE OF PANIC 223
PHANTOM THREAT 225
MISLEADING DISPLAYS 228
MISSILES ON RED SQUARE 231
CIA SEEKING INTELLIGENCE 233
PARANOIA IN WASHINGTON 236
THE GREAT REVELATION 241
WHAT'S THAT ROCKET CALLED? 244
FROM FANTASY TO ICON 247
8 East meets West 248
COMMERCIAL EFFORTS IN THE WEST 251
ONE WORLD ENDS, ANOTHER BEGINS 254
BLOSSOMING OF THE CONSTELLATIONS MARKET 257
LAUNCHERS TO COMPLEMENT ARIANE 260
POWDER FIZZLES OUT 263
9 The genesis of Starsem 267
NEW DEAL IN SAMARA 270
A FRENCH PROPOSAL 273
FROM IRENE TO IKAR 275
BREAKING OUT OF THE CIRCLE 277
NEW RULES OF THE GAME 280
OBJECTIVE GLOBALSTAR 282
THE POLITICIANS COME ON STAGE 286
ARIANESPACE FACED WITH A DILEMMA 288
STARSEM IS BORN 290
10 Europeans on the steppe 295
ACCOMMODATING SATELLITES AND TEAMS 296
SEEKING NEW CUSTOMERS 299
A RESURRECTION AND A DEATH 300
"ONE MAN'S LOSS IS ANOTHER MAN'S GAIN" 303
FREGAT MAKES ITS APPEARANCE 306
MARKET COLLAPSE 313
TIME FOR A CHANGE 314
11 Russians in the jungle 326
GLUT OF LAUNCH SITES 327
KOUROU IN SIGHT 329
A TROPICAL, CRYOGENIC SOYUZ 330
POLITICAL GAMES AND STAKES 332
AUSSIE POKER 335
FROM ELYSEE TO EDINBURGH 337
THE TABLES ARE TURNED 338
MEETING IN PARIS 339
MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND 341
A CONSTRUCTION SITE IN GUIANA 344
12 Soyuz, launcher of the future 358
FROM THE SOYUZ LAUNCHER TO THE SOYUZ SPACECRAFT IN GUIANA 361
TOWARDS THE 2,000TH FLIGHT? 374
3, 2-3, 1: THE FlNAL COUNTDOWN? 376
THE MIRAGE OF A EURO-RUSSIAN SPACECRAFT 377
POST-SOYUZ IN RUSSIA 379
POST-SOYUZ IN EUROPE 381
Annexes 386
FRANCOIS CALAQUE 386
VICTOR EDUARDOVICH NIKOLAEV 389
JEAN-YVES LE GALL 392
Chapter notes 398
Chapter 1 398
Chapter 2 399
Chapter 3 400
Chapter 4 401
Chapter 5 402
Chapter 6 402
Chapter 7 402
Chapter 8 403
Chapter 9 406
Chapter 10 409
Chapter 11 410
Chapter 12 412
Semyorka launches 414
Bibliography 474
THE WESTERN VISION 475
Korolev 476
History of Russian-Soviet lannchen 476
Baikonnr 477
Opening of the market aod cooperation with Europe 479
Other launch-site projects 479
Corporate publications 480
Websites 480
Index of names 481
USSR, Russia and Ukraine 481
GERMANY 489
FRANCE 489
COUNTRIES IN THE COMMUNIST SPHERE 490
UNITED STATES 490
REST OF THE WORLD 491
Photo credits 492
About the Authors 494

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 12.3.2013
• Reihe/Serie: Space Exploration
• Reihe/Serie: Space Exploration
• Reihe/Serie: Springer Praxis Books
• Reihe/Serie: Springer Praxis Books
• Zusatzinfo: XII, 500 p. 233 illus., 111 illus. in color.
• Verlagsort: New York
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Astronomie / Astrophysik
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Fahrzeugbau / Schiffbau
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Luft- / Raumfahrttechnik
• Schlagworte: French Guiana Space Centre • International Space Station • Interplanetary Probes • Manned Spacecraft • Russian Spaceflight • Russian space program • Satellite Launch • Soyuz Vehicle • space probes • Yuri Gagarin
• ISBN-10: 1-4614-5459-X / 146145459X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4614-5459-5 / 9781461454595