The history of the creation of the spaceship Buran. Soviet reusable orbital spacecraft "Buran" (11F35). Differences from the Space Shuttle

On November 15, 1988, the space shuttle Buran was launched. After the Energia universal rocket and space transport system was launched with the Buran, it entered orbit, made two orbits around the Earth and made an automatic landing at the Baikonur cosmodrome.
This flight was an outstanding breakthrough in Soviet science and opened a new stage in the development of the Soviet space research program.

Analytical studies conducted by the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences and NPO Energia (1971-1975) told about the need to create a domestic reusable space system in the Soviet Union, which would serve as a counterweight in the policy of containing potential adversaries (Americans). Their result was the assertion that if the Americans launch the reusable Space Shuttle system, they will receive an advantage and the ability to deliver nuclear missile strikes. And although the American system did not pose an immediate threat at that time, it could threaten the country's security in the future.
Work on the creation of the "Energia-Buran" program began in 1976. This process was attended by about 2.5 million people, who represented 86 ministries and departments, as well as about 1,300 enterprises throughout the Soviet Union. For the development of the new spacecraft, NPO Molniya was specially created, headed by G.E. Lozino-Lozinsky, who already in the 60s worked on the Spiral reusable rocket and space system.

It should also be noted that, despite the fact that for the first time the ideas for the creation of spacecraft-airplanes were expressed by the Russians, namely by Friedrich Zander back in 1921, domestic designers were in no hurry to translate his ideas into reality, since this business seemed to them extremely troublesome ... True, work was carried out on the design of the Planning Spacecraft, however, due to technical problems that arose, all work was stopped.
But work on the creation of winged spaceships began only in response to the start of such work by the Americans.

So, when in the 60s in the USA work began on the creation of the Dyna-Soar rocket plane, the USSR launched work on the creation of the R-1, R-2, Tu-130 and Tu-136 rocket planes. But the greatest success of the Soviet designers was the Spiral project, which was to become the harbinger of Buran.
From the very beginning, the program for creating a new spacecraft was torn apart by conflicting requirements: on the one hand, the designers were required to copy the American Shuttle in order to reduce possible technical risks, reduce the time and cost of development, on the other hand, the need to adhere to the program put forward by V. .Glushko on the creation of unified rockets intended for the landing of an expedition on the lunar surface.
In the course of shaping the appearance of "Buran" two options were proposed. The first version was similar to the American Shuttle and was a layout of an aircraft with a horizontal landing and placement of engines in the tail. The second option was a wingless vertical landing scheme, its advantage was that it was possible to reduce the design time by using data from the Soyuz spacecraft.

As a result, after the tests, the horizontal landing scheme was adopted as the basis, since it most fully met the requirements put forward. The payload was located on the side, and the second-stage cruise engines were located in the central block. The choice of such an arrangement was caused by the lack of confidence that it would be possible to create a reusable hydrogen engine in a short time, as well as the need to preserve a full-fledged launch vehicle, which could independently launch not only a ship into orbit, but also large volumes of payloads. If we look a little ahead, we note that such a decision was fully justified: Energia managed to ensure the launch of large spacecraft into orbit (it was 5 times more powerful than the Proton launch vehicle and 3 times more powerful than the Space Shuttle).
The first and only sings "Burana", as we said above, took place in 1988. The flight was conducted in unmanned mode, that is, there was no crew on it. It should be noted that, despite the superficial resemblance to the American Shuttle, the Soviet model had a number of advantages. First of all, these ships were distinguished by the fact that the domestic one could put into space, in addition to the ship itself, also additional cargo, and also had greater maneuverability during landing. The shuttles were designed in such a way that they would land with their engines turned off, so they could not try again if necessary. "Buran" was equipped with turbojet engines, which made it possible in case of bad weather conditions or any unforeseen situations. In addition, the Buran was equipped with an emergency crew rescue system. At a low altitude, the cockpit with pilots could be ejected, and at high altitudes it was possible to disconnect the module from the launch vehicle and make an emergency landing. Another significant difference was the automatic flight mode, which was not available on American ships.

It should also be noted that the Soviet designers did not harbor illusions about the economic efficiency of the project - according to calculations, the launch of one "Buran" cost the same as launching hundreds of disposable missiles. However, the Soviet ship was originally designed as a military space system. After the end of the Cold War, this aspect has ceased to be relevant, which cannot be said about spending. Therefore, his fate was decided.
In general, the program for the creation of the Buran multipurpose spacecraft provided for the creation of five ships. Of these, only three were constructed (the construction of the rest was only started, but after the program was closed, all the backlog for them was destroyed). The first of them visited space, the second became an attraction in the Moscow Gorky Park, and the third is in the Museum of Technology in Sinsheim, Germany.

But first, technological mock-ups (9 in total) were created in full size, which were intended for strength tests and crew training.
It should be noted that practically enterprises from all over the Soviet Union took part in the creation of Buran. So, at the Kharkov "Energopribor" a complex of autonomous control "Energia" was created, which took the ship into space. Design and manufacture of parts for the ship were carried out at the Antonov ASTC, and the An-225 Mriya was also created, which was used to deliver the Buran.
To test the spacecraft "Buran" 27 candidates were trained, which were divided into military and civilian test pilots. This division was due to the fact that this ship was planned to be used not only for defense purposes, but also for the needs of the national economy. Colonel Ivan Bachurin and an experienced civilian pilot Igor Vovk were appointed as leaders of the group (this was the reason that his group was named "wolf pack").

Despite the fact that the flight of "Buran" was performed in automatic mode, nevertheless seven testers managed to visit orbit, however, on other ships: I. Vovk, A. Levchenko, V. Afanasyev, A. Artsebarsky, G. Manakov, L. Kadenyuk, V. Tokarev. Unfortunately, many of them are no longer among us.
The civilian detachment lost more testers - testers, continuing to prepare for the Buran program, simultaneously test other aircraft, flew and died one after another. O. Kononenko was the first to die. A. Levchenko followed him. A little later, A. Shchukin, R. Stankevichus, Y. Prikhodko, Y. Schaeffer also passed away.
Commander I.Vovk himself, having lost so many people close to him, left flight service in 2002. A few months later, trouble happened to the Buran ship itself: it was damaged by the debris of the roof of one of the assembly and test buildings at the Baikonur cosmodrome, where the ship was in storage.

In some mass media you can find information that in fact there were two flights of "Buran", but one was unsuccessful, therefore information about it is classified. So, in particular, it is said that in 1992 from the Baikonur cosmodrome, another ship was launched, similar to the "Buran" - "Baikal", but in the first seconds of the flight the engine malfunctioned. Automation worked, the ship began to return back.
In fact, everything is explained very simply. In 1992, all work on the Buran was stopped. As for the name, initially the ship bore the name “Baikal”, but the top Soviet leadership did not like it, which recommended changing it to a more sonorous “Buran”. At least, this is what G. Ponomarev, the commander of the engineering and testing department of the Baikonur cosmodrome, who was directly involved in the program, asserts.
Until now, disputes have not subsided as to whether Buran was needed at all, and why it was necessary to spend such a huge amount of funds on a project that is now not even used. But be that as it may, for that time it was a real breakthrough in space science, and even today it has not yet been surpassed.

The Buran snowmobile is produced at a plant in Rybinsk. This is a technique with a powerful engine, which is designed for winter walks, fishing or hunting.

Specifications

Description and technical characteristics of Buran-640:

Front suspension type	Leaf spring
Rear suspension type	Independent
Number of front springs	1
Number of tracks	2
Tension mechanism	Screw
Gearbox model	Variable speed drive
Number of gears	4
Reverse	there is
Braking system type	Disk
Brake drive	Mechanical
Powertrain starting system	Manual, electric starter
Ignition	Contactless
Lubrication system	Combined (gasoline and oil)
Number of seats	2
Allowable towed weight	250 kg
Speedometer	there is
Heated handles	there is
Headlight	55/60, halogen
Rear headlight	LED
Piston stroke	7 cm
Fuel used	Gasoline AI-92, AI-76, AI-80
Carburetor model	Mikuni
Powertrain model	RMZ-640
Diameter of cylindrical elements	7.6 cm
Cooling system type for working fluid	Air
International environmental standard	Euro-2
Fuel tank volume	28 l

Dimensions

Overall dimensions of the Buran ADE snowmobile track:

length - 2.87 m;
width - 0.38 m;
height - 0.075 m.

Vehicle dimensions: 2.7 * 0.91 * 1.33 m, weight - 285 kg.

Drawer dimensions

Buran 4TD is equipped with boxes, the size of which is 2.42 * 1.06 * 1.13 m.

Suspension

An elliptical leaf spring front suspension and an independent rear suspension mechanism equipped with a balanced spring are installed.

The travel of the front and rear mechanisms is 5 cm. The number of front springs is 1.

The snowmobile suspension structure includes the following elements:

bearing shell;
outer hub;
star;
internal hub;
mounting bolts and nuts;
sleeve;
roller;
ski;
axial device;
clamp;
buffer;
steering column;
cuff;
thrust washer;
sprocket driven type of chain transmission;
retaining ring.

The spring assemblies are attached to the brackets of the ski sole. The ends of the root sheet must be locked with cotter pins. Longitudinal movement of the springs is carried out by sliding on the bronze insert of the front tip of the main leaf.

Bearings, kingpin and handle shaft must be treated with a special grease.

Mover

This snowmobile is equipped with a caterpillar propeller equipped with drive sprockets. Number of caterpillar mechanisms - 2. Type of caterpillar track - reinforced with plastic rods, made of rubber and fabric. The tensioning mechanism is screw, the height of the lugs is 17.5 mm.

The propulsion unit converts the energy of the power unit through interaction with the environment. Traction is generated by rewinding the tracks.

See " How to properly preserve a snowmobile for the summer with your own hands

The large contact area of \u200b\u200bthe tracked belt device with the soil makes it possible to provide low ground pressure and a high level of cross-country ability.

The propulsion device includes the following mechanisms:

driving wheel;
caterpillars;
support rollers;
supporting rollers;
tensioning mechanism with sloths.

Such a mechanism allows you to increase maneuverability and extend the life of the vehicle.

Transmission

This snowmobile is equipped with a transmission in the form of a variator and gearbox. The variator consists of a V-belt transmission with automatic change of the operating diameter of the drive shaft of the Buran snowmobile caterpillar.

The variator design includes:

a driving pulley equipped with a centrifugal regulating device;
driven pulley equipped with a cam-type clutch.

The gearbox consists of:

crankcase;
reverse shaft;
gear shifting devices;
chain tensioner.

The gearshift mechanism is installed on the housing cover and consists of an axle device, a shift fork, a spring-loaded ball that enters the axle groove. A plastic plug with a prompting hole is screwed into the cover.

The tensioner is located at the bottom of the housing. Tension is adjusted by turning the tensioning shaft. To check the chain, a special inspection ring is provided in the design.

Brakes

The snowmobile is equipped with mechanically operated disc brakes. The design of the braking system includes the following mechanisms:

main brake cylinder block;
vacuum amplifier;
a device that regulates the pressure in the rear brake mechanism;
aBS unit;
working brake cylindrical elements;
working outlines.

The brake master cylinder converts the tractive effort that is transmitted from the brake pedal into the pressure of the fuel fluid in the system and distributes it to all working circuits.

In order to increase the force that creates pressure, a vacuum hydraulic drive amplifier is needed.

The regulating device reduces the pressure level in the drive of the brake device of the rear wheel elements, which makes it possible to increase the braking efficiency of the vehicle.

The circuits consist of closed pipelines that connect the master cylinders and wheels.

Performance parameters

Overview of operating parameters:

Basic configuration

The basic package includes:

starter;
reverse transmission;
heated handles;
windshield;
rear hitch;
speedometer;
odometer.

Lighting engineering

This modification of the snowmobile is equipped with headlights, model 17.3711010. They consist of a body, a bezel and an optical device. The lamp is attached to the optical mechanism with a spring clip. There are 3 pins that are required to connect the male connector. The headlights can be adjusted horizontally or vertically with screws.

See " TOP-3 modifications of Dingo snowmobiles (Dingo) and their technical characteristics

The taillight is located on the rear suspension housing, to which it is attached with two screws. The design of the lantern includes: base, lamp, socket, glass.

The vehicle has 2 safety devices: 15 A and 30 A. They are designed to protect the electrical circuit of the ignition system and the engine.

The brake light is located on the steering handle. It turns on the snowmobile handbrake lamp by closing the switch contacts.

Engine

The engine of the snowmobile Buran RMZ-640 has the following technical indicators:

On some models, the Lifan engine for the Buran snowmobile is installed. Technical indicators:

Repairs and breakdowns

Main malfunctions and ways to eliminate them:

If the engine does not start, it is necessary to disconnect the ends of the fuel pipe and purge the system, flush all filter elements, clean the prompting hole, and replace gasoline.
If there is no spark on the spark plug electrodes, check the mechanism for damage and defects, clean the spark plugs from carbon deposits, adjust the gap.
If there is an open circuit in the transmission, it is recommended to replace the chain mechanism, for this you will need to remove the track.
If the gearbox turns off while driving, the entire mechanism should be disassembled, the spring and other worn parts should be replaced.
If oil leaks from the gearbox, it is necessary to adjust the oil seals and replace damaged and worn parts.
If the snowmobile is not delivering full power, it is recommended to adjust the tension and centering of the track belt.

Tuning makes it possible to protect the suspension mechanism and transmission from premature wear.

Improving the motor will allow the vehicle to run even at low ambient temperatures. Installing heated grips and seat heating can increase walking time in cold weather.

In order to use transport in areas with a lot of snow, it is recommended to install an extended ski model.

Installing a roof rack helps to increase safety in the event of a collision with any obstacle or when a vehicle rolls over.

A steering rack pad will help mitigate the impact of accidental collisions, and the addition of additional rear-view mirrors will help extend the field of view.

Buran progenitor

Buran was developed under the influence of the experience of overseas colleagues who created the legendary "space shuttles". The reusable spacecraft Space Shuttle were designed as part of the NASA Space Transportation System program, and the first shuttle made its first launch on April 12, 1981 - to the anniversary of Gagarin's flight. It is this date that can be considered the starting point in the history of reusable spacecraft.

The main drawback of the shuttle was its price. The cost of one launch cost US taxpayers $ 450 million. For comparison, the launch price of a one-off Soyuz is $ 35-40 million. So why did the Americans take the path of creating just such spaceships? And why was the Soviet leadership so interested in the American experience? It's all about the arms race.

The Space Shuttle is the brainchild of the Cold War, or rather, the ambitious Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, whose task was to create a system for countering Soviet intercontinental missiles. The colossal scale of the SDI project led to the fact that it was dubbed "Star Wars".

The development of the shuttle did not go unnoticed in the USSR. In the minds of the Soviet military, the ship appeared as a kind of superweapon capable of delivering a nuclear strike from the depths of space. In fact, the reusable spacecraft was created only to deliver the elements of the missile defense system into orbit. The idea of \u200b\u200busing the shuttle as an orbital missile carrier really sounded, but the Americans abandoned it even before the first flight of the spacecraft.

Many in the USSR also feared that shuttles might be used to steal Soviet spacecraft. The fears were not unfounded: the shuttle had an impressive manipulator on board, and the cargo compartment could easily accommodate even large space satellites. However, it seems that the kidnapping of Soviet ships was not part of the plans of the Americans. And how could such a demarche be explained in the international arena?

However, in the Land of the Soviets, they began to think about an alternative to an overseas invention. The domestic ship was supposed to serve both military and peaceful purposes. It could be used for scientific work, delivering cargo to orbit and returning them to Earth. But the main purpose of "Buran" was to carry out military tasks. It was seen as the main element of the space combat system, designed both to counter possible aggression from the United States and to deliver counterstrikes.

In the 1980s, the Skif and Kaskad combat orbiters were developed. They were largely unified. Their launch into orbit was considered one of the main tasks of the Energia-Buran program. The combat systems were supposed to destroy US ballistic missiles and military spacecraft with laser or missile weapons. For the destruction of targets on Earth, it was proposed to use the orbital warheads of the R-36orb rocket, which would be placed on board the Buran. The warhead had a 5Mt thermonuclear charge. In total, "Buran" could take on board up to fifteen such units. But there were even more ambitious projects. For example, the option of building a space station was considered, the warheads of which would be the modules of the "Buran" spacecraft. Each such module carried striking elements in the cargo compartment, and in the event of a war, they had to fall on the enemy's head. The elements were gliding carriers of nuclear weapons, housed in so-called revolver mounts inside the cargo hold. The "Burana" module could accommodate up to four revolver installations, each of which carried up to five striking elements. At the time of the first launch of the ship, all these combat elements were under development.

With all these plans, by the time of the ship's first flight, there was no clear understanding of its combat missions. There was no unity among the specialists involved in the project. Among the leaders of the country were both supporters and ardent opponents of the creation of "Buran". But the leading developer of Buran, Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky, has always supported the concept of reusable devices. The position of Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov, who saw the shuttles as a threat to the USSR and demanded a decent response to the American program, played a role in the appearance of the Buran.

It was precisely the fear of a "new space weapon" that forced the Soviet leadership to follow the path of overseas competitors. At first, the ship was even thought not so much as an alternative, but as an exact copy of the shuttle. The Soviet intelligence mined the blueprints of the American ship back in the mid-1970s, and now the designers had to build their own. But the difficulties that arose forced the developers to look for unique solutions.

So, engines became one of the main problems. The USSR did not have a power plant equal in its characteristics to the American SSME. The Soviet engines were larger, heavier and had less thrust. But the geographic conditions of the Baikonur cosmodrome, on the contrary, required more thrust in comparison with the conditions of Cape Canaveral. The fact is that the closer the launch pad is to the equator, the greater the usable mass the same type of launch vehicle can put into orbit. The advantage of the American cosmodrome over Baikonur was estimated at about 15%. All this led to the fact that the design of the Soviet ship had to be changed in the direction of reducing the mass.

In total, 1,200 enterprises of the country worked on the creation of "Buran", and during its development, 230 unique
technologies.

The first flight

The ship received its name "Buran" just before the first - and, as it turned out, the last - launch, which took place on November 15, 1988. "Buran" was launched from the "Baikonur" cosmodrome "and 205 minutes later, having circled the planet twice, landed there. Only two people in the world could see the takeoff of a Soviet ship with their own eyes - the pilot of the MiG-25 fighter and the flight operator of the cosmodrome: "Buran" flew without a crew, and from the moment of takeoff to touching the ground, it was controlled by an onboard computer.

The flight of the ship became a unique event. For the first time in all space flights, a reusable vehicle was able to independently return to Earth. At the same time, the deviation of the ship from the center line was only three meters. According to eyewitnesses, some high-ranking officials did not believe in the success of the mission, believing that the ship would crash on landing. Indeed, when the device entered the atmosphere, its speed was 30 thousand km / h, so the "Buran" had to maneuver to slow down - but in the end the flight went off with a bang.

Soviet specialists had something to be proud of. And although the Americans had much more experience in this area, their shuttles could not land on their own. However, pilots and cosmonauts are far from always ready to entrust their lives to the autopilot, and subsequently the Buran software was nevertheless added to the possibility of manual landing.

Features:

Buran was built according to the tailless aerodynamic design and had a delta wing. Like its overseas gathering, it was quite large: 36.4 m in length, wingspan - 24 m, launch weight - 105 tons. The spacious all-welded cabin could accommodate up to ten people.

Thermal protection was one of the most important elements of the Buran's design. In some places of the vehicle during takeoff and landing, the temperature could reach 1430 ° C. To protect the ship and the crew, carbon-carbon composites, quartz fiber and felt materials were used. The total weight of heat-shielding materials exceeded 7 tons.

The large cargo hold made it possible to take on board large cargo, for example, space satellites. To launch such spacecraft into space, "Buran" could use a huge manipulator, similar to the one on board the shuttle. The total carrying capacity of the Buran was 30 tons.

Two stages were involved in launching the ship. At the initial stage of the flight, four missiles with RD-170 liquid-propellant engines, the most powerful of all liquid-propellant engines ever created, undocked from the Buran. The thrust of the RD-170 was 806.2 tf, and its operating time was 150 s. Each such engine had four nozzles. The second stage of the spacecraft is four RD-0120 liquid oxygen-hydrogen engines installed on the central fuel tank. The operating time of these engines was up to 500 s. After the fuel was depleted, the ship undocked from the huge tank and continued its flight on its own. The shuttle itself can be considered the third stage of the space complex. In general, the Energia carrier rocket was one of the most powerful in the world, and had a very great potential.

Probably the main requirement for the Energy-Buran program was maximum reusability. Indeed, the only disposable part of this complex was to be a giant fuel tank. However, unlike the engines of the American shuttles, which gently splashed down in the ocean, the Soviet boosters landed in the steppe near Baikonur, so it was rather problematic to reuse them.

Another feature of the Buran was that its propulsion engines were not part of the apparatus itself, but were on the launch vehicle - or rather, on the fuel tank. In other words, all four RD-0120 engines burned out in the atmosphere, while the shuttle engines returned with it. In the future, Soviet designers wanted to make the RD-0120 reusable, and this would significantly reduce the cost of the Energia-Buran program. " In addition, the ship was supposed to receive two built-in jet engines for maneuvers and landing, but by its first flight the device was not equipped with them and in fact was a "naked" glider. Like its American counterpart, the Buran could land only once - in case of an error, there was no second chance.

A big plus was that the Soviet concept made it possible to put into orbit not only a ship, but also additional cargo weighing up to 100 tons. The domestic shuttle had some advantages over shuttles. For example, it could take on board up to ten people (versus seven crew members at the shuttle) and was able to spend more time in orbit - about 30 days, while the longest shuttle flight was only 17.

Unlike the shuttle, it had Buran and a crew rescue system. At low altitude, the pilots could eject, and if the unforeseen situation above had happened, the ship would separate from the launch vehicle and land in the manner of an airplane.

What's the bottom line?

The fate of "Buran" from its very birth was not easy, and the collapse of the USSR only exacerbated the difficulties. By the early 1990s, 16.4 billion Soviet rubles (about $ 24 billion) had been spent on the Energia-Buran program, while its further prospects were very vague. Therefore, in 1993, the Russian leadership decided to abandon the project. By that time, two spaceships had been built, one more was in production, and the fourth and fifth were just being laid.

In 2002, the first and only space flight Buran was killed when the roof of one of the buildings of the Baikonur cosmodrome collapsed. The second ship remained in the cosmodrome museum and is the property of Kazakhstan. The half-painted third sample could be seen at the MAKS-2011 air show. The fourth and fifth apparatus were no longer completed.

“Speaking about the American shuttle and our Buran, one must first of all understand that these programs were military, both the one and the other,” says Pavel Bulat, an expert in the aerospace field, Ph.D. - Buran's scheme was more progressive. Separately, the rocket, separately - the payload. There was no need to talk about any economic efficiency, but in technical terms, the Buran-Energia complex was much better. There is nothing forced in the fact that Soviet engineers abandoned the placement of engines on the ship. We designed a separate rocket with a side-hung payload. The rocket had specific characteristics unsurpassed either before or after. She could be rescued. Why put an engine on a ship in such conditions? ... It's just a rise in price and a decrease in weight efficiency. And organizationally: the rocket was made by RSC Energia, the glider - by NPO Molniya. On the contrary, for the United States it was a forced decision, not only a technical one, but a political one. The boosters were made with a solid rocket engine to load the manufacturers. “Buran”, though it was made on the direct orders of Ustinov, “like a shuttle”, was verified from a technical point of view. It really turned out to be much better. The program was closed - it's a pity, but, objectively, there was no payload for either the rocket or the plane. It took a year to prepare for the first launch. Therefore, they would go broke on such launches. To be clear, the cost of one launch was approximately equal to the cost of a Slava-class missile cruiser.

Of course, "Buran" took over many features of its American progenitor. But the shuttle and Buran were structurally very different. Both ships had both indisputable advantages and objective disadvantages. Despite the progressive concept of the Buran, disposable ships were, are and will remain much cheaper ships for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the closure of the Buran project, as well as the rejection of shuttles, seems to be the right decision.

The history of the creation of the shuttle and "Buran" makes us think once again about how deceptive seemingly advantageous technologies can be. Of course, the new reusable devices will sooner or later see the light of day, but what kind of ships they will be is another question.

There is another side to the issue. During the creation of Buran, the space industry gained invaluable experience that could be used in the future to create other reusable spacecraft. The very fact of the successful development of "Buran" speaks of the highest technological level of the USSR.

"Shuttle" and "Buran"

When you look at photographs of the Burana and Shuttle winged spacecraft, you might get the impression that they are quite identical. At least there shouldn't be any fundamental differences. Despite the external similarity, these two space systems are still fundamentally different.

"Shuttle"

The Shuttle is a reusable transport spacecraft (MTKK). The ship has three liquid-propellant rocket engines (LPRE), running on hydrogen. Oxidizing agent - liquid oxygen. To make an entry into low-earth orbit, a huge amount of fuel and oxidizer is required. Therefore, the fuel tank is the largest element of the Space Shuttle system. The spacecraft is located on this huge tank and is connected to it by a system of pipelines through which fuel and oxidizer are supplied to the Shuttle's engines.

And all the same, the three powerful engines of the winged ship are not enough to go into space. Attached to the central tank of the system are two solid-propellant boosters - the most powerful missiles in human history today. The greatest power is needed precisely at the start to move the multi-ton ship and lift it to the first four and a half tens of kilometers. Solid rocket boosters take on 83% of the load.

Another "Shuttle" takes off

At an altitude of 45 km, solid-fuel boosters, having used up all the fuel, are separated from the ship and are splashed down in the ocean by parachutes. Further, to an altitude of 113 km, the "shuttle" rises with the help of three rocket engines. After separating the tank, the ship flies for another 90 seconds by inertia and then, for a short time, two orbital maneuvering engines powered by self-igniting fuel are switched on. And the "shuttle" goes into working orbit. And the tank enters the atmosphere, where it burns. Parts of it fall into the ocean.

Department of solid fuel accelerators

Orbital maneuvering engines are designed, as their name implies, for various maneuvers in space: to change orbital parameters, to dock to the ISS or to other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. So "shuttles" several times visited the Hubble orbiting telescope for service.

Finally, these thrusters serve to create a braking impulse when returning to Earth.

The orbital stage is made according to the aerodynamic configuration of a tailless monoplane with a low-lying delta wing with a double sweep of the leading edge and with a vertical tail of the usual scheme. For atmospheric control, a two-section rudder on the keel (here is an air brake), elevons on the trailing edge of the wing and a balancing flap under the aft fuselage are used. Retractable chassis, tricycle, with nose wheel.

Length 37.24 m, wingspan 23.79 m, height 17.27 m. "Dry" weight of the vehicle is about 68 tons, takeoff weight - from 85 to 114 tons (depending on the task and payload), landing with a return load on board - 84.26 tons.

The most important design feature of the airframe is its thermal protection.

In the most heat-stressed places (design temperature up to 1430 ° C), a multilayer carbon-carbon composite is used. There are not many such places, it is mainly the fuselage nose and the leading edge of the wing. The lower surface of the entire apparatus (heating from 650 to 1260 ° C) is covered with tiles made of a material based on quartz fiber. The top and side surfaces are partially protected by low-temperature insulation tiles - where the temperature is 315-650 ° C; in other places where the temperature does not exceed 370 ° C, felt material covered with silicone rubber is used.

The total weight of all four types of thermal protection is 7164 kg.

The orbital stage has a double-deck cockpit for seven astronauts.

Shuttle cockpit upper deck

In the case of an extended flight program or when performing rescue operations, up to ten people can be on board the shuttle. In the cockpit, there are flight controls, work and sleeping places, a kitchen, a storeroom, a sanitary compartment, an airlock, operations and payload control posts, and other equipment. The total pressurized volume of the cabin is 75 cubic meters. m, the life support system maintains a pressure of 760 mm Hg in it. Art. and a temperature in the range of 18.3 - 26.6 ° C.

This system is made in an open version, that is, without the use of air and water regeneration. This choice is due to the fact that the duration of the shuttle flights was set at seven days, with the possibility of bringing it up to 30 days using additional funds. With such insignificant autonomy, the installation of regeneration equipment would mean an unjustified increase in weight, power consumption and complexity of onboard equipment.

The supply of compressed gases is enough to restore the normal atmosphere in the cabin in the event of one complete depressurization or to maintain a pressure of 42.5 mm Hg in it. Art. within 165 minutes when a small hole is formed in the hull shortly after the start.

The cargo compartment measures 18.3 x 4.6 m and a volume of 339.8 cubic meters. m is equipped with a "three-knee" manipulator 15.3 m long. When the compartment doors are opened, the radiators of the cooling system turn into the working position together with them. The reflectivity of the radiator panels is such that they remain cold even when the sun is shining on them.

What the Space Shuttle can do and how it flies

If we imagine an assembled system flying horizontally, we will see an external fuel tank as its central element; an orbiter is docked to it from above, and accelerators are on the sides. The total length of the system is 56.1 m, and the height is 23.34 m. The overall width is determined by the wingspan of the orbital stage, that is, it is 23.79 m. The maximum launch weight is about 2,041,000 kg.

It is impossible to speak so unambiguously about the size of the payload, since it depends on the parameters of the target orbit and on the launch point of the spacecraft. Here are three options. The Space Shuttle system is capable of displaying:

29,500 kg when launched eastward from Cape Canaveral (Florida, East Coast) into an orbit with an altitude of 185 km and an inclination of 28º;

11,300 kg when launched from the Space Flight Center. Kennedy into an orbit with an altitude of 500 km and an inclination of 55º;

14,500 kg when launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base (California, west coast) into a circumpolar orbit with an altitude of 185 km.

For the shuttles, two landing strips were equipped. If the shuttle landed far from the cosmodrome, it would return home on a Boeing 747

Boeing 747 takes shuttle to the cosmodrome

A total of five shuttles were built (two of them died in accidents) and one prototype.

When developing, it was envisaged that the shuttles would make 24 launches a year, and each of them would make up to 100 flights into space. In practice, they were used much less - by the end of the program in the summer of 2011, 135 launches were made, of which Discovery - 39, Atlantis - 33, Columbia - 28, Endeavor - 25, Challenger - 10 ...

The shuttle's crew consists of two astronauts - the commander and the pilot. The shuttle's largest crew is eight astronauts (Challenger, 1985).

Soviet reaction to the creation of the Shuttle

The development of the "shuttle" made a great impression on the leaders of the USSR. It was considered that the Americans were developing an orbital bomber armed with space-to-ground missiles. The sheer size of the shuttle and its ability to return cargo up to 14.5 tons to Earth were interpreted as a clear threat of the abduction of Soviet satellites and even Soviet military space stations such as Almaz, which flew in space under the name Salyut. These estimates were erroneous, since the United States abandoned the idea of \u200b\u200ba space bomber in 1962 in connection with the successful development of a nuclear submarine fleet and ground-based ballistic missiles.

Soyuz could easily fit in the shuttle's cargo hold

Soviet experts could not understand why 60 shuttle launches were needed per year - one launch per week! Where did the set of space satellites and stations for which the Shuttle would need come from? Soviet people living in a different economic system could not even imagine that the leadership of NASA, which was strenuously pushing a new space program in the government and Congress, was driven by the fear of being unemployed. The lunar program was nearing completion and thousands of highly qualified specialists were out of work. And, most importantly, the respected and very well-paid NASA executives faced a disappointing prospect of parting with their inhabited offices.

Therefore, an economic feasibility study was prepared on the great financial benefit of reusable transport spacecraft in case of abandonment of disposable rockets. But for the Soviet people it was absolutely incomprehensible that the president and the congress could spend national funds only with a great regard to the opinion of their voters. In this connection, the opinion reigned in the USSR that the Americans were creating a new QC for some future incomprehensible tasks, most likely military ones.

Reusable spacecraft "Buran"

In the Soviet Union, it was originally planned to create an improved copy of the Shuttle - an OS-120 orbital aircraft weighing 120 tons. (The American shuttle weighed 110 tons at full load). Unlike the Shuttle, it was planned to equip the Buran with an ejection cockpit for two pilots and turbojet engines for landing at the airport.

The leadership of the armed forces of the USSR insisted on almost complete copying of the "shuttle". By this time, Soviet intelligence was able to obtain a lot of information on the American spacecraft. But it turned out to be not so simple. Domestic hydrogen-oxygen rocket engines turned out to be large in size and heavier than American ones. Moreover, in terms of power, they were inferior to overseas. Therefore, instead of three rocket engines, it was necessary to install four. But on the orbital plane there was simply no room for four propulsion engines.

At the "shuttle" 83% of the load at the start was carried by two solid-fuel boosters. In the Soviet Union, it was not possible to develop such powerful solid-propellant missiles. Missiles of this type were used as ballistic carriers of sea and land-based nuclear charges. But they did not reach the required power very, very much. Therefore, the Soviet designers had the only opportunity - to use liquid-propellant rockets as accelerators. Under the Energia-Buran program, very successful kerosene-oxygen RD-170s were created, which served as an alternative to solid-fuel boosters.

The very location of the Baikonur cosmodrome forced the designers to increase the power of their launch vehicles. It is known that the closer the launch pad is to the equator, the greater the load one and the same rocket can put into orbit. The American cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral has a 15% advantage over Baikonur! That is, if a rocket launched from Baikonur can lift 100 tons, then when launched from Cape Canaveral, it will put 115 tons into orbit!

Geographical conditions, differences in technology, characteristics of the created engines and a different design approach - all influenced the appearance of the Buran. Based on all these realities, a new concept and a new orbital spacecraft OK-92, weighing 92 tons, were developed. Four oxygen-hydrogen engines were transferred to the central fuel tank and the second stage of the Energia launch vehicle was obtained. Instead of two solid-propellant boosters, it was decided to use four rockets on liquid fuel kerosene-oxygen with four-chamber RD-170 engines. Four-chamber means four nozzles; a nozzle with a large diameter is extremely difficult to manufacture. Therefore, the designers go to the complication and weighting of the engine by designing it with several smaller nozzles. There are as many nozzles as there are combustion chambers with a bunch of fuel and oxidizer supply pipelines and with all the "moorings". This link was made according to the traditional, "royal" scheme, similar to the "alliances" and "east", became the first stage of "Energy".

"Buran" in flight

The Buran cruise ship itself became the third stage of the launch vehicle, similar to the Soyuz. The only difference is that the Buran was located on the side of the second stage, while the Soyuz was at the very top of the launch vehicle. Thus, the classic scheme of a three-stage disposable space system was obtained, with the only difference that the orbiter was reusable.

Reusability was another problem of the Energia-Buran system. The Americans' shuttles were designed for 100 flights. For example, orbital maneuvering engines could withstand up to 1000 turns. All elements (except for the fuel tank) after preventive maintenance were suitable for launching into space.

Solid fuel booster picked up by a special vessel

Solid propellant boosters were parachuted into the ocean, picked up by special NASA ships and delivered to the manufacturer's plant, where they underwent preventive maintenance and were filled with fuel. The Shuttle itself was also thoroughly checked, prevented and repaired.

Defense Minister Ustinov, in an ultimatum, demanded that the Energia-Buran system be maximally recyclable. Therefore, the designers were forced to tackle this problem. Formally, the side boosters were considered reusable, suitable for ten launches. But in fact, it did not come to this for many reasons. Take, for example, the fact that American accelerators flopped into the ocean, and Soviet ones fell in the Kazakh steppe, where landing conditions were not as benign as the warm ocean waters. And a liquid rocket is a more delicate creation. than solid fuel. "Buran" was also designed for 10 flights.

In general, the reusable system did not work, although the achievements were obvious. The Soviet orbiter, freed from the large propulsion engines, received more powerful engines for maneuvering in orbit. Which, in the case of its use as a space "fighter-bomber", gave it great advantages. Plus turbojets for atmospheric flight and landing. In addition, a powerful rocket was created with the first stage on kerosene fuel, and the second on hydrogen. It was precisely such a rocket that the USSR lacked to win the moon race. In terms of its characteristics, Energia was practically equal to the American Saturn-5 rocket that sent Apollo 11 to the moon.

"Buran" has a great external accessibility with the American "Shuttle". Korabl poctroen Po cheme camoleta tipa "bechvoctka» c treugolnym krylom peremennoy ctrelovidnocti, imeet aerodinamicheckie organy upravleniya, rabotayuschie at pocadke pocle vozvrascheniya in plotnye cloi atmocfery - wheel napravleniya and elevony. He was able to make a controlled launch in the atmosphere with a lateral maneuver of up to 2000 kilometers.

The length of the "Buren" is 36.4 meters, the wingspan is about 24 meters, the height of the ship on the chassis is more than 16 meters. The old mass of the ship is more than 100 tons, of which 14 tons are used for fuel. In nocovoy otcek vctavlena germetichnaya tselnocvarnaya kabina for ekipazha and bolshey chacti apparatury for obecpecheniya poleta in coctave raketno-kocmicheckogo komplekca, avtonomnogo poleta nA orbite, cpucka and pocadki. The volume of the cabin is more than 70 cubic meters.

When vozvraschenii in plotnye cloi atmocfery naibolee teplonapryazhennye uchactki poverhnocti korablya rackalyayutcya do graducov 1600, zhe teplo, dohodyaschee nepocredctvenno do metallicheckoy konctruktsii korablya, ne dolzhno prevyshat 150 graducov. Therefore, "BURAN" distinguished its powerful thermal protection, providing normal temperature conditions for the design of a ship during the flight of aircraft

The heat-resistant cover of more than 38 thousand tiles is made of special materials: quartz fiber, high-performance core, no-nonsense core Ceramic firewood has the ability to accumulate heat without passing it to the ship's hull. The total mass of this armor was about 9 tons.

The length of the BURANA's cargo compartment is about 18 meters. Its extensive cargo compartment can accommodate a payload of up to 30 tonnes. There it was possible to place large space vehicles - large satellites, blocks of orbital stations. The landing mass of the ship is 82 tons.

"BURAN" was used with all the necessary systems and equipment for both automatic and piloted flight. This and the means of navigation and control, and radiotechnical and television systems, and automatic controllers of the warm-hearted

Buran's cabin

The main engine installation, two groups of engines for maneuvering are located in the end of the tail section and in the front part of the frame.

November 18, 1988 "Buran" went on its flight into space. It was launched by the Energia launch vehicle.

After entering the near-earth orbit, "Buran" made 2 orbits around the Earth (in 205 minutes), then began its descent to Baikonur. The landing was made at a special Yubileiny airfield.

The flight took place in automatic mode, there was no crew on board. The orbital flight and landing were carried out using an onboard computer and special software. Automatic flight mode was the main difference from the Space Shuttle, in which astronauts land in manual mode. The flight of Buran entered the Guinness Book of Records as unique (no one had ever landed spacecraft in a fully automatic mode).

Automatic landing of a 100-ton whopper is a very difficult thing. We did not do any hardware, only the software for the landing mode - from the moment of reaching (during descent) an altitude of 4 km to stopping on the runway. I will try to tell you very briefly how this algorithm was made.

First, the theorist writes the algorithm in a high-level language and tests it against test cases. This algorithm, which is written by one person, is "responsible" for one relatively small operation. Then it is combined into a subsystem, and it is dragged to the modeling stand. In the stand "around" the working, on-board algorithm, there are models - a model of the dynamics of the apparatus, models of executive bodies, sensor systems, etc. They are also written in a high-level language. Thus, the algorithmic subsystem is tested in the "mathematical flight".

Then the subsystems are put together and checked again. And then the algorithms are "translated" from the high-level language into the language of the on-board vehicle (BCVM). To check them, already in the hypostasis of the onboard program, there is another modeling stand, which includes an onboard computer. And around her is the same - mathematical models. They are, of course, modified compared to the models in a purely mathematical bench. The model "spins" in a general purpose mainframe. Do not forget, these were the 1980s, personal computers were just beginning and were very low-powered. It was the mainframe time, we had a twin of two EC-1061s. And for communication of an on-board vehicle with a matmodel in a universal computer, special equipment is needed, it is also needed as part of a stand for various tasks.

We called this stand semi-natural - after all, in it, besides all mathematics, there was a real on-board computer. It implemented the mode of operation of the onboard programs, very close to the real time mode. It takes a long time to explain, but for the on-board computer it was indistinguishable from the "real" real time.

Someday I'll get myself together and write how the semi-natural modeling mode works - for this and other cases. In the meantime, I just want to explain the composition of our department - the team that did all this. It had an integrated department that dealt with the sensor and executive systems involved in our programs. There was an algorithmic department - these actually wrote onboard algorithms and worked them out on a mathematical bench. Our department was engaged in a) translation of programs into the on-board computer language, b) creation of special equipment for a semi-natural stand (here I worked) and c) programs for this equipment.

Our department even had our own designers to make documentation for the manufacture of our blocks. And there was also a department that was in charge of operating the aforementioned EC-1061 pair.

The output product of the department, and therefore of the entire design bureau within the framework of the "storm" theme, was a program on magnetic tape (1980s!), Which was taken to work out further.

Further - this is the stand of the enterprise-developer of the control system. After all, it is clear that the control system of an aircraft is not only an on-board computer. This system was made by a much larger enterprise than us. They were the developers and "owners" of the on-board computer, they stuffed it with a variety of programs that perform the entire range of tasks for controlling the ship from prelaunch preparation to post-landing shutdown of systems. And for us, our landing algorithm, in that on-board computer, only a part of the computer time was allocated, in parallel (more precisely, I would say, quasi-parallel) other software systems worked. After all, if we calculate the landing trajectory, this does not mean that we no longer need to stabilize the apparatus, turn on and off all kinds of equipment, maintain thermal regimes, generate telemetry and so on, and so on and so forth ...

However, let's get back to working out the landing mode. After working out in a standard redundant on-board computer as part of the entire set of programs, this set was taken to the stand of the enterprise-developer of the Buran spacecraft. And there was a stand, called a full-size stand, in which an entire ship was involved. When running programs, he waved elevons, hummed drives and all that stuff. And the signals came from real accelerometers and gyroscopes.

Then I saw enough of all this on the Breeze-M accelerator, but for now my role was quite modest. I did not travel outside my design bureau ...

So, we passed the full-size stand. Do you think that's all? Not.

Next was the flying laboratory. This is the Tu-154, whose control system is configured so that the aircraft reacts to the control actions generated by the on-board computer, as if it were not a Tu-154, but a Buran. Of course, it is possible to quickly "return" to normal. "Buransky" was switched on only for the duration of the experiment.

The culmination of the tests were 24 flights of the Buran, made specially for this stage. It was called BTS-002, had 4 engines from the same Tu-154 and could take off from the runway itself. He sat down in the process of testing, of course, with the engines turned off - after all, "in the state" the spacecraft sits in the planning mode, there are no atmospheric engines on it.

The complexity of this work, or rather, our software-algorithmic complex, can be illustrated by the following. In one of the BTS-002 flights. flew "on the program" until the main landing gear touched the strip. Then the pilot took control and lowered the nose strut. Then the program turned on again and kept the device to a complete stop.

By the way, this is pretty understandable. While the apparatus is in the air, it has no restrictions on rotation around all three axes. And it revolves, as expected, around the center of mass. Here he touched the strip with the wheels of the main struts. What's happening? Roll rotation is now impossible at all. The pitch rotation is no longer around the center of mass, but around the axis passing through the points of contact of the wheels, and it is still free. And the rotation along the course is now determined in a complex way by the ratio of the steering torque from the rudder and the friction force of the wheels on the strip.

This is such a difficult regime, which is so radically different from both flight and run along the strip "at three points". Because when the front wheel falls into the lane, it’s like in a joke: no one is spinning anywhere ...

In total, it was planned to build 5 orbital ships. In addition to Buran, the Tempest was almost ready and almost half of the Baikal. Two more ships that are in the initial stage of production have not received names. The Energiya-Buran system was unlucky - it was born at an unfortunate time for it. The Soviet economy was no longer able to fund expensive space programs. And some kind of fate pursued the cosmonauts who were preparing for flights on the "Buran". Test pilots V. Bukreev and A. Lysenko died in plane crashes in 1977, even before joining the cosmonaut group. In 1980, test pilot O. Kononenko died. 1988 took the lives of A. Levchenko and A. Shchukin. After the flight of "Buran" R. Stankevichus, the co-pilot for the manned flight of the winged spacecraft, died in a plane crash. I. Volk was appointed the first pilot.

Buran was not lucky either. After the first and only successful flight, the ship was kept in a hangar at the Baikonur cosmodrome. On May 12, 2012, 2002, the overlap of the workshop in which the Buran and the Energia model were located collapsed. On this sad chord, the existence of the winged spacecraft, which had shown such great hopes, ended.

After the collapse of the floor

sources

r kill 259"000

Specifications
ENGINE
RMZ-640 model
Volume, cm3 / Cylinders 635/2
Power, h.p. 34
Type 2-stroke
Cylinder diameter × piston stroke, mm 76x70
Fuel system carburetor
Carburetor / Mikuni type / float
Air cooling
Exhaust system Muffler
Type of issue n.d.
Intake system Silencer-intake
Inlet type n.a.
Joint lubrication system
Maximum speed, km / h Not less than 60
CHASSIS
Transmission CVT, forward, reverse, neutral
Brake mechanism Mechanical, disc
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
Starting system Manual
Ignition Non-contact ignition
Electric starter No
Reverse Yes
Heated handlebars and throttle trigger Option
Headlight Halogen, 55/60
Speedometer / Odometer Yes
CAPACITY
Oil tank capacity, l -
Fuel tank, l 28
SUSPENSION
Lane type suspension elliptical spring
Travel lane. suspension, mm 50
Front suspension shock absorber -
Front propeller damper -
Ass type. independent suspension, spring-balancer
Back stroke. suspension, mm 50
Rear propeller damper -
Track of skis (between centers), mm -
Caterpillar, L × W × H, mm 2x (2878x380x17.5)
DIMENSIONS
Number of seats 2
Snowmobile dimensions, L × W × H, mm 2700 ± 30x910 ± 30x1335 ± 30
Box dimensions, L × W × H, mm 2420x1060x1130
Dry * weight, kg 285
EQUIPMENT
Windshield Yes
Passenger backrest Yes
Trunk No
Hitch Yes
Warranty, month 36

Description

"Buran" has long become a real friend for thousands and thousands of Russian snowmobilers. They trust him, knowing for sure: in difficult times the snowmobile will not let you down.

The short frame and the unique "Buranovskaya" design scheme: "1 ski + 2 tracks" - make it a snowy all-terrain vehicle. The snowmobile does not require any special riding skills and is easy to maneuver in forest areas.

The letter “A” denotes the short platform model.

The Buran A model is a classic; at the request of the owners, its design remained unchanged.

The snowmobile comes in a new modern design. We have changed the appearance of the hood and the scheme of its attachment: now it leans back, providing easy access to all components and assemblies in the engine compartment. To increase comfort, Buran A was equipped with a new high two-level seat with a removable backrest for the passenger. The hood material is injection molded plastic: it will provide resistance to external influences - impacts and will not crack in the cold.

The snowmobile requires minimal technical support and has good maintainability in the field, far from civilization.

"Buran A" is a simple and reliable snowmobile, like a Kalashnikov assault rifle. A whole army of hunters and fishermen in Russia see no alternative to it.

It might be useful to read: