People dreamed about flights to other planets, fantasized and tried to imagine what it would be like back in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But only in the second half of the 20th century did rocket technology developers appear who translated these fantasies into projects, technologies, and products. Studying the materials related to those developments, you are surprised at how bold and at the same time thoughtful, systematic and promising the technical solutions made by the developers of those legendary times were.

In the early 1960s in the Soviet Union, under the leadership of S.P. Korolev began developing projects for manned spacecraft intended for multi-year space expeditions. The launch of the ship to Mars was even planned for June 8, 1971 (the great opposition, when the planets come closest to each other), and the return was scheduled for July 10, 1974.

In the design department of OKB-1 under the leadership of Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov, various options ship for a flight to Mars. The project was called the Heavy Interplanetary Ship (TMK). Specialists of the 9th department of OKB-1, however, deciphered the abbreviation in another way - Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov. Research on TMK was carried out in parallel by two groups of designers under the leadership of Gleb Yuryevich Maksimov and, a little later, Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov. The goal of the work on TMK projects was to develop a ship that would provide manned flights from Earth satellite orbit to the planets of the Solar System with the ability to land and study these planets. Initially, it was planned to explore Mars, and then Venus.

The first projects of our country

It is known that in the preliminary design of rocket and space systems based on the N-1, which Chief Designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev approved on May 16, 1962, among the tasks set for these systems, the following appear: “crew flight in two or three man of Mars, Venus and return to Earth; carrying out expeditions to the surface of Mars and Venus and choosing a location for a research base; creation of research bases on Mars and implementation of transport links between the Earth and the planets.”

It seems like a fantasy, but Sergei Pavlovich was confident that they could be realized within the lifetime of his generation. This is how work on Mars projects began at OKB-1 in the early 60s.

The Chief Designer instructed the team of the then famous Department No. 9, headed by Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov, to make the first estimates for a manned expedition to Mars back in 1959.

The preliminary design developed by the group provided for the creation of a giant “Mars Manned Complex” (“MPC”) from individual blocks in low-Earth orbit. Its weight was estimated at 1600 tons. It was intended to use liquid oxygen and kerosene rocket engines. To launch all this mass into orbit, it was planned to carry out from 20 to 24 launches of super-heavy launch vehicles. The expedition was designed to last 30 months, with about a year planned to be devoted to direct study of the planet - from satellite orbit and on its surface. The ship being returned to Earth was supposed to have a mass of 15 tons. Before carrying out the expedition, a test flight of a ship (slightly smaller in size) was to take place, which was to fly around Mars, studying it from a certain distance. Very soon it became clear that the project could not be implemented in the near future. There was too much that was unclear and the demands placed on technology were too high.

After the adoption on August 3, 1964 of the secret resolution of the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On work on the exploration of the Moon and outer space,” which ordered the “landing of an expedition on the surface of the Moon with subsequent return and landing on Earth,” Department No. 9 of OKB-1, led by Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov, work on the lunar project was reoriented, which was a space “train” consisting of the ships 7K (Soyuz-A), 9K (Soyuz-B) and 11K (Soyuz-V) .

Project by Gleb Yuryevich Maksimov

This portrait of Gleb Maximov is on display at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Astronautics Museum (USA)

The project of the group of G.Yu. Maksimov assumed the rapid implementation of the program using available means in order to be in time for the closest approach to Mars in 1971. To achieve this, it was planned to create a relatively simple design and light weight spaceship with a crew of three. The project envisaged a flyby of Mars with research along the flight path and without landing on its surface or without entering a near-Martian orbit, followed by the return of the ship to the Earth. By correcting the flight trajectory, it was necessary to very accurately bring the ship to Earth, where the descent vehicle was to separate from it, entering the atmosphere at a speed exceeding the second cosmic speed, and performing a controlled descent and parachute landing. Structurally, this version of the TMK was a cylindrical crew cabin with instrumentation and assembly compartment, remote control for trajectory correction and solar panels on the outside of the ship. Without appropriate initial data on the reliability of the huge H- launch vehicle 1 , the designers envisaged launching the interplanetary spacecraft into low-Earth orbit in two versions: with astronauts on board or with the subsequent “replanting” of the crew at TMK. In the latter case, an unmanned interplanetary spacecraft with an upper stage was launched into orbit using H- 1 , and the crew was delivered to him in one of the ships developed at that time at OKB-1. After the cosmonauts were transferred, the TMK with the upper stage was launched from orbit in the direction of Mars.

TMK dimensions: total length - 12 meters, maximum diameter - 6 meters, total weight - 75 tons. After a three-year journey, on July 10, 1974, the crew would return to Earth.

Later, when OKB-1 began to actually plan the expedition, the developments of Maksimov’s group formed the basis of the MAVR project, which envisaged a flight to Mars with an intermediate flyby of Venus.

Heavy Interplanetary Ship (TMK) in the latest edition

Project by Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov

Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov

To Mars according to Vladimir Chelomey

For the first time, OKB-52 turned to the Martian topic in the early 60s. On the personal initiative of Vladimir Nikolaevich Chelomey, a whole family of unmanned spaceplanes was developed that could be used to study Mars. Chelomey's spaceplanes were built according to modular principle. Typically, they consisted of the following modules: an upper stage on a liquid-propellant rocket engine, a nuclear reactor block, a bunch of sustainer ion engines, and the spaceplane itself with a return part.

The spaceplane itself was a conical-shaped apparatus, located in a heat-protective container, with petal flaps that ensure maneuvering in the atmosphere. Upon entering the atmosphere of Mars, the spaceplane was slowed down to an acceptable speed, after which the heat-protective container was dropped, the wings unfolded, the turbojet engine was turned on, and the vehicle began flying over the red planet.

In total, within the framework of “Theme K”, two versions of spaceplanes were developed for flight to Mars and Venus. The UR-200K ballistic missile with a payload capacity of 2 tons was chosen as a means of launching the complex into low-Earth orbit.

At the end of the 60s, the outstanding successes of the UR-500K (Proton-K) rockets inspired the designers of OKB-52 (TsKBM) to develop an alternative project for a manned expedition to Mars. This option was based on the “lunar” rocket “UR-700”

According to the project, the start to Mars would be in

possible already in 1974. The ship was launched into low Earth orbit by a modified UR-700M rocket. The crew of two astronauts in the MK-700 Mars spacecraft would spend two years on a mission to Mars and then return to Earth in a capsule specially designed for a transport resupply vehicle (“TSV”).

Dimensions of the MK-700 ship: total length - 140 meters, maximum diameter - 12.5 meters, total weight - 140 tons. It was planned as a propulsion engine for an interplanetary spacecraft.

b use the RD-0410 nuclear rocket engine, which was being developed at that time.

The designers of Chelomey's bureau have not yet thought about landing cosmonauts on Mars. The idea to equip the MK-700 with a landing module of the LK-700 type arose later, when OKB-52 began the preliminary design of the UR-900.

This gigantic super-heavy launch vehicle (total length - 90 meters, maximum diameter - 28 meters, launch weight - 8000 tons), powered by RD-254 engines designed by Glushko, could launch a mass of up to 240 tons into the reference low-Earth orbit.

However, Chelomey’s proposal was not accepted, including for financial reasons.

Stages of evolution of the Mars expeditionary complex at RSC Energia

What now? The general designer of RSC Energia, Evgeniy Anatolyevich Mikrin, probably said this most accurately:

“The Mars program is the guiding star of manned space exploration. However, for this you need to go a certain way. It requires significant improvements to improve energy efficiency, improve reliability and provide greater autonomy.

A life support system with an almost closed cycle is needed, radiation protection for a long flight, fault-tolerant maintainable systems are needed that require a minimum amount of spare parts, tools, etc.

Therefore, within the framework of the fundamentals of the state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of space activities, it is proposed to begin testing these technologies at the international space station and during the implementation of the Lunar program, which includes: - launch of automatic spacecraft “Luna-25″,” “Luna-26″,” Luna-27”, “Luna-28″, the creation of a manned spacecraft for a flight to the Moon, the creation of a super-heavy class launch vehicle, a manned flight into cislunar space with landing on the surface of the Moon using a lunar takeoff and landing complex.

As for Martian expeditions, in my opinion, they will not be realistic in the 20s or even in the 30s. More like the 40s. It is quite obvious that the Mars program is too large for one, even a very rich country. Most likely, this will be an international project.”

"The Mars Project" by Wernher von Braun

(from the book “Battle for the Stars” by Anton Pervushin)

In the Third Reich, you could do rocket science, but you couldn’t dream of space flight.

Willie Ley tells the following story:

“Early in the morning of March 15, 1944, Dornberger received a call from General Bule from Berchtesgaden (Hitler’s residence). Dornberger was ordered to immediately report to Field Marshal Keitel in Berchtesgaden. When he arrived there, Bule informed him that Dr. von Braun and engineers Klaus Riedel and Helmut Gröttrup had been arrested by the Gestapo. The next day, Keitel explained to Dornberger that those arrested would probably be executed because they were accused of sabotaging the development of the A-4 rocket project. They were allegedly overheard talking about how they were working on the A-4 rocket under duress, while their cherished goal was interplanetary travel.

Those arrested were released due to Dornberger's sworn statement that these men were needed to complete work on the A-4 rocket project."

Albert Speer retells the same story, but in his own words. So it was. And in general, the Gestapo can be understood: while the entire people are working tirelessly in the name of a great victory, these, so to speak, intellectuals are going to run away to Mars.

Wernher von Braun heeded the warning and did not speak out further on the topic of flights to other worlds. But as you know, you can shave your beard, but what to do with your thoughts?..

Once in the USA and taking a deep breath of freedom, von Braun began to come up with his truly cosmic projects.

He presented his first notes in the form of reports at the First Symposium on Space Flight Problems, held on October 12, 1950 at the New York Planetarium. At the same time, von Braun claimed that he had been thinking about his project for a long time - since the middle of the war. Already in 1946, he made a calculation of applicability for the US Army ballistic missile"A-12" for launching payloads (including a habitable capsule with an astronaut) to orbital altitude. Subsequently, these calculations resulted in a project for a space system under the code name “Von Braun,” which consisted of a two-stage launch vehicle and an orbital aircraft.

On March 22 and October 25, 1952, the materials of the symposium under the general title “Soon Man will Conquer Space” were published in the popular American magazine Colliers and attracted the attention of the general public largely thanks to the beautiful illustrations of Chesley Bonestell, which artists and filmmakers still rely on for illustrations of fantastic ideas put forward by space and rocketry experts. According to the Americans themselves, this publication was a major step in the popularization of space flights on American soil.

So, what kind of project did Wernher von Braun propose?

Space exploration, according to von Braun, should have begun with the construction of a toroidal orbital station, which would be given rotation to create artificial gravity inside. The station, where 80 people would live permanently, was planned to be used either as an extra-atmospheric observatory or as a nuclear missile base for launching surprise attacks from space. The designer estimated its cost at $4 billion.

The station is also needed to provide support for the lunar expedition, which should take place no later than 1977. In order for the expedition to justify itself, at least a team of 50 astronauts (?!) should be sent to the Moon, who will stay on the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite for at least six weeks. This whole crowd of researchers will land on the surface of the Moon on three landing modules, deploy a base and begin to actively study the surrounding area using three large tracked all-terrain vehicles.

It is clear that to support such a large-scale expedition, an appropriate “lunar ship” will be required. This ship should begin to be assembled in orbit six months before the expedition departs. Every day two cargo ships reusable The Saturn Shuttle (very similar in appearance to the good old A-4b rocket, only greatly increased in size) must launch at least 70 tons of cargo into orbit near the station, where the “lunar” will be assembled. In the end, the result should be a monstrously huge ship weighing 4370 tons, 49 m long, with a maximum hull diameter of 33.5 m. This whole colossus had to be moved from orbit 30 powerful engines. At the very top of the ship there was a spherical module with a crew with a diameter of 10 m. The interior of the module is divided into five decks: the bridge, the control center of the ship's systems, cabins, storage (hold) and a block of special equipment (liquid life support and batteries).

Despite the scale of the lunar expedition project, Wernher von Braun estimated its cost very modestly: at 300 million dollars.

Two years later, in the issue of Colliers magazine dated April 30, 1954, an expanded space exploration project was published, including an expedition to Mars, information about which was rather scarce in previous issues. As it turned out, the difference between the “lunar project” and the “Mars project” is only in the size of the ship.

Such were the plans of the “rocket baron” Wernher von Braun during the American period of his life. These plans were not implemented. It must be said that at the beginning they openly did not trust him and he had to participate in the formation of the American space industry - launching the first American satellites and single astronauts. However, he still managed to implement the Saturn-5 super rocket project, which brought his new homeland the palm in the Lunar Race.

RF PROJECTS OF NEW TIMES

Subsonic analogue of the “Spiral” MIG105.11.

In modern times, the space industry has set itself much more modest goals. In 2000, RSC Energia began designing the Clipper multi-purpose space complex. This reusable spacecraft, a distant descendant of the Spiral project of G.I. Lozino-Lozinsky, was supposed to be used to solve a wide variety of problems: cargo delivery, evacuation of the space station crew, space tourism, flights to other planets.

There were certain hopes for the project. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, the project was closed in 2006. However, the technologies developed within the Clipper project are expected to be used to design the Advanced Manned Transport System (APTS), also known as the Rus project.

The winged version of the Clipper in orbital flight. Webmaster's drawing based on the Clipper 3D model©Vadim Lukashevich

It is the PTS - called “Federation”, as Russian experts believe, that will be destined to become a new generation domestic space system, capable of replacing reliable, constantly modernized, but still outdated Soyuz and Progress.

As in the case of the Clipper, the spacecraft is being developed by RSC Energia. The basic modification of the complex will be the “Next Generation Manned Transport Ship” (PTK NK), which is designed to deliver people and cargo to orbital stations located in low-Earth orbit and to the Moon. For the Federation, a modular construction of the base ship has been adopted in the form of functionally complete elements - the return vehicle and the engine compartment. The ship will be wingless, with a reusable return part of a truncated conical shape and a disposable cylindrical engine compartment, and will widely use the systems designed at RSC Energia for the Clipper (a multi-purpose manned spacecraft). The maximum crew of the Federation will be 6 people (for flights to the Moon - up to 4 people).

General technical characteristics:
The mass of cargo delivered into orbit is 500 kg, the mass of cargo returned to Earth is 500 kg or more, with a smaller crew. The length of the ship is 6.1 m, the maximum diameter of the hull is 4.4 m, the mass during near-Earth orbital flights is 12 tons (for flights to lunar orbit - 16.5 tons), the mass of the return part is 4.23 tons (including soft systems). landing - 7.77 t), Volume of the sealed compartment - 18 m³. The duration of the ship's autonomous flight is up to 30 days.

New structural materials with improved strength characteristics and carbon fiber reinforced plastics will reduce the weight of the spacecraft structure by 20-30% and will extend its service life. Household compartments will simply be docked, depending on the task that the Federation will face.

Model of PTS at the MAKS-2009 exhibition

NEW US SPACESHIP

In July 2011, American President Barack Obama said: a flight to Mars is a new and, as far as one can assume, the main goal of American astronauts for the coming decades. One of the programs carried out by NASA as part of the exploration of the Moon and the flight to Mars was the large-scale space program “Constellation”.

It is based on the creation of a new manned spacecraft "Orion", launch vehicles "Ares-1" and "Ares-5", as well as the lunar module "Altair". Despite the fact that in 2010 the US government decided to curtail the Constellation program, NASA was able to continue developing Orion.

The first unmanned test flight of the ship was planned for 2014. It was assumed that during the flight the device would move six thousand kilometers from the Earth. This is about fifteen times further than the ISS. After the test flight, the ship should set course for Earth. The new device will be able to enter the atmosphere at a speed of 32 thousand km/h. According to this indicator, Orion is one and a half thousand kilometers superior to the legendary Apollo.

Orion's first unmanned experimental flight is intended to demonstrate its potential capabilities. Testing the ship should be an important step towards its manned launch, which is scheduled for 2021.

According to NASA plans, the Orion launch vehicles will be Delta 4 and Atlas 5. It was decided to abandon the development of Ares. In addition, for the exploration of deep space, the Americans are designing a new super-heavy launch vehicle SLS.

Orion is a partially reusable spacecraft and is conceptually closer to the Soyuz spacecraft than to the space shuttle. Most promising spacecraft are partially reusable. This concept assumes that after landing on the Earth's surface, the ship's habitable capsule can be reused for launch into outer space.

This makes it possible to combine the functional practicality of reusable spacecraft with the cost-effectiveness of operating Soyuz or Apollo-type spacecraft. This decision is a transitional stage. It is likely that in the distant future all spacecraft will become reusable. So the American Space Shuttle and the Soviet Buran were, in a sense, ahead of their time.

Orion is a multi-purpose capsule partially reusable US manned spacecraft, developed since the mid-2000s as part of the Constellation program©NASA

Currently, on behalf of NASA, in addition to the Orion project, several private companies are developing their own spacecraft projects designed to replace the vehicles used today.

Boeing is developing the CST-100, a partially reusable crewed spacecraft, as part of its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. The device is designed to make short trips to low-Earth orbit. Its main task will be the delivery of crew and cargo to the ISS.

The ship's crew can be up to seven people. At the same time, during the design of the CST-100 Special attention was given to the comfort of the astronauts. The living space of the device is much more extensive than ships of the previous generation. It will likely be launched using Atlas, Delta or Falcon launch vehicles.

At the same time, Atlas-5 is the most suitable option. The ship will land using a parachute and air cushions. According to Boeing's plans, the CST-100 will undergo a series of test launches in 2015. The first two flights will be unmanned. Their main task is to launch the vehicle into orbit and test safety systems.

During the third flight, a manned docking with the ISS is planned. If the tests are successful, the CST-100 will very soon be able to replace the Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, which have a monopoly on manned flights to the International Space Station.

CST-100 – Manned Transport Spacecraft©Boeing

Another private ship that will deliver cargo and crew to the ISS will be a device developed by SpaceX, part of the Sierra Nevada Corporation. The partially reusable monoblock Dragon vehicle was developed under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

It is planned to build three modifications of it: manned, cargo and autonomous. The crew of the manned spacecraft, as in the case of the CST-100, can be seven people. In the cargo modification, the ship will carry four people and two and a half tons of cargo.

And in the future they want to use the Dragon for flights to the Red Planet. Why will they develop a special version of the ship - “Red Dragon”. According to the plans of the American space leadership, an unmanned flight of the device to Mars will take place in 2018, and the first test manned flight of a US spacecraft is expected to take place in a few years.

One of the features of the Dragon is its reusability. After the flight, part of the energy systems and fuel tanks will be lowered to Earth along with the ship's habitable capsule and can be reused for space flights. This design ability sets the new ship apart from most promising designs.

In the near future, “Dragon” and CST-100 will complement each other and act as a “safety net”. If one type of ship for some reason cannot perform its assigned tasks, another will take over part of its work.

Dragon SpaceX is a private transport spacecraft (SC) of SpaceX, developed by order of NASA as part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation (COTS) program, designed to deliver payload and, in the future, people to the ISS©SpaceX

The Dragon was launched into orbit for the first time in 2010. The unmanned test flight was completed successfully, and a few years later, namely on May 25, 2012, the device docked with the ISS. At that time, the ship did not have an automatic docking system, and to implement it it was necessary to use the space station’s manipulator.

This flight was considered to be the first ever docking of a private spacecraft to the International Space Station. Let’s make a reservation right away: the Dragon and a number of other spacecraft developed by private companies can hardly be called private in the full sense of the word. For example, NASA allocated $1.5 billion for the development of the Dragon.

Other private projects also receive financial support from NASA. Therefore, we are talking not so much about the commercialization of space, but about a new strategy for the development of the space industry, based on cooperation between the state and private capital.

Once secret space technologies, previously available only to the state, are now the property of a number of private companies involved in the field of astronautics. This circumstance in itself is a powerful incentive for the growth of technological capabilities of private companies. In addition, this approach made it possible to employ a large number of highly qualified space industry specialists in the private sphere, who had previously been dismissed by the state due to the closure of the Space Shuttle program.

The project of the private company SpaceDev, called “Dream Chaser,” is of great interest. Twelve company partners, three American universities and seven NASA centers also took part in its development.

The concept of the reusable manned spacecraft Dream Chaser, developed by the American company SpaceDev, a division of Sierra Nevada Corporation©SpaceDev

This ship is very different from all other promising space developments. The reusable Dream Chaser looks like a miniature Space Shuttle and is capable of landing like an ordinary airplane. The ship's main missions are similar to those of the Dragon and CST-100. The device will serve to deliver cargo and crew (up to the same seven people) to low Earth orbit, where it will be launched using the Atlas-5 launch vehicle.

The Dream Chaser project is being created on the basis of an American development of the 1990s - the HL-20 orbital aircraft. The latter’s project became a certain analogue of the Soviet project to create the Spiral orbital system.

Recently, more and more talk has been going around this unique project of the USSR, which can now cause a stir in modern military doctrines.

"Spiral" is a space system consisting of an orbital fighter aircraft and a hypersonic booster aircraft, which puts the former into orbit. The surface temperature of the forward fuselage at different stages descent from orbit could reach 1600 °C. It was assumed that the orbital aircraft, being very quickly launched into orbit, would be able to perform various tasks, including selectively shooting down enemy military satellites, or even taking some of them with it.

In January 2014, as part of the Commercial Crew Development program, it was announced that the first test orbital flight in uncrewed mode was scheduled to launch on November 1, 2016, but as a result of further funding losses, the launch did not take place.

In September 2014, the project was not selected for NASA funding in the next phase of the Commercial Crew Development program from CCiCAP to CCtCAP, although the proposed price of $2.55 billion was less than competitor Boeing's $3.01 billion price. The CST-100 and Dragon V2 capsule ships were selected.

After losing out on NASA's Commercial Crew Development program, Sierra Nevada Corporation said it plans to participate in the CRS2 ISS cargo resupply program, which runs from 2018 to 2024.

In October 2015, a new date was announced for the next test in a series of atmospheric tests for the restored vehicle, which was damaged after an accident in 2013. The start of tests was planned for the first quarter of 2016. It was planned from 3 to 6 test flights, with the ship being dropped from various heights using a helicopter and subsequent landing. To avoid problems with the chassis exit, pneumatic drive added mechanical. Assembly of the orbital version of the device has also begun.

On January 14, 2016, NASA selected Sierra Nevada Corporation and their cargo version of the Dream Chaser vehicle as one of three winners of the second phase of the International Space Station resupply program, Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS2). The company is guaranteed at least 6 cargo missions to the ISS between 2019 and 2024.

On June 28, 2016, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Sierra Nevada Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to provide accessible opportunities for United Nations Member States to conduct experiments in space.

On September 27, 2016, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, together with the Sierra Nevada Corporation at the International Astronautics Congress, announced details of the first-ever dedicated United Nations space mission, which is scheduled to take place in 2021 and will allow Member States of the United Nations to participate in the 14th daylight flight of Dream Chaser in low Earth orbit (LEO) to experiment and study microgravity.

In January 2017, the flight prototype was delivered to NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center located at Edwards Air Force Base for testing.

On November 11, 2017, a second glide and landing test was carried out. The flight prototype was dropped from a helicopter from an altitude of 3.8 km to test gliding and landing on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base. Landing completed successfully

All three devices have similar appearance and intended functionality. This raises a completely logical question. Should the Soviet Union have scrapped the half-finished Spiral aerospace system?

Lunar programs

Russia

The resumption of lunar exploration, interrupted in 1976, is planned for 2019 under the Russian lunar program. In the draft program for research of the Solar system until 2025, prepared by scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the study of the Moon is named a priority task. All these spacecraft launches are planned to be carried out from the Vostochny cosmodrome. (Dates are as of August 2016). According to the Roscosmos press service, all work on the Luna-Grunt project is being implemented according to schedule:

PA") - main and backup landing probes

At the second stage - after 2020 - new lunar rovers - Lunokhod-3 and Lunokhod-4 - will operate on the surface of the Moon. They will differ from Soviet lunar rovers in that they are much smaller in size and at the same time have a greater service life. It is planned that the new lunar rovers will be able to operate in the polar regions of the Moon for up to five years and move away from the landing site at a distance of up to 30 kilometers. It is planned that in 2023 a descent vehicle with a return rocket will be sent to the Moon, which will land near Lunokhod-3 and Lunokhod-4. Then six or seven capsules with lunar material will be reloaded from the lunar rovers into a return rocket, which will return them to Earth.
The lunar rovers and landing station remaining on the lunar surface will form the first elements of the space infrastructure of the lunar test site with the prospect of deploying a future Russian lunar base in this area. Habitable research stations on the Moon could be created in 2030-2040.
China

The Chinese Chang'e lunar probing program includes three stages: a flyby around the Earth's satellite (Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2), landing on the Moon (Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4) and return from the Moon to Earth (“Chang’e-5” and “Chang’e-6”).
The first lunar satellite, Chang'e-1, was launched in 2007 and operated until 2009. The data he collected allowed Chinese scientists to create, in particular, the first heat map of the Moon. The Chang'e-2 lunar sensing satellite was launched on October 1, 2010. One of the main tasks of the satellite was to collect the necessary information for the successful landing of Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4 on the lunar surface. Having completed the work of transmitting high-resolution images of the lunar surface, on December 13, 2012, Chang'e-2 flew past the Tautatis asteroid and took pictures of it.
According to a representative of the Center for Space Science and Applied Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China intends to carry out the first landing of a national spacecraft on the Moon in 2013. The launch of the Chang'e-5 satellite, which will begin the third stage of the Chinese lunar program and which will deliver samples of lunar soil to Chinese scientists, is expected in 2017, and by 2030 it is planned to send the first Chinese astronauts (taikunauts) to the Earth's satellite.

USA

President George W. Bush announced the new US space strategy in 2004. In accordance with the Constellation program, by 2020 the United States was supposed to deliver astronauts to the Moon and then send a mission to Mars.
A commission appointed by President Obama to examine space strategy came to the conclusion that Constellation is very expensive ($3 billion per year in addition to the total program budget, which grew from $27 to $44 billion), uses outdated technology, and will not be able to deliver people to the Moon. even by 2028.
In 2010, Obama announced the end of the program. The main task The future American Orion manned spacecraft, which were part of the Constellation lunar program, will explore space beyond Earth orbit. In particular, the United States is planning a manned mission to explore an asteroid (2025) and a flight to Mars in the 2030s.

European Space Agency (ESA)

The first European vehicle to enter lunar orbit was the SMART-1 experimental vehicle launched by ESA in 2003, which completed its mission in 2006. Over the three years of operation, the device transmitted to Earth a lot of information about the lunar surface, and also carried out high-resolution cartography of the Moon.
ESA was working on a solar system exploration program called Aurora, which planned to send Europeans to the Moon and Mars. The financial crisis hit ESA's plans. A number of EU countries that are members of the Agency have made significant reductions in their funding, in particular, the Lunar Lander program - a space flight project with landing on the surface of the Moon. It was planned that in 2019 or a little later, an ESA automatic station would land on the south pole of the Moon. The cost of the Lunar Lander project was estimated at half a billion euros. After the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy announced cuts in funding for this project in 2012, Lunar Lander had to be abandoned.
ESA intends to continue exploration of the Moon together with Russia, keeping in mind that the long-term goal of cooperation will be a mission to return soil samples from the polar regions of the satellite to Earth. This goal can be achieved within the framework of the Russian Luna-Resurs lander mission and the LPSR (Lunar Polar Sample Return) mission to deliver soil samples.

India

India's first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in October 2008. The spacecraft managed to work in orbit of the Moon for 312 days, completing 3.4 thousand orbits around it. He transmitted to Earth thousands of photographs of the surface and data on chemical composition Moons. On August 29, 2009, Chandrayaan transmitted its last data packet to Earth, after which communication with it was lost.
A continuation of the Indian lunar program is the Chandrayaan-2 project, in the preparation of which the Russian Space Agency is taking part. The Chandrayaan-2 station will go to the Earth’s satellite in 2014.
In the distant future (after 2025-2030), manned flights to the Moon are planned in cooperation with other countries or even independently.

Japan

Japan's orbital exploration of the Moon began with the launch of the Kaguya lunar probe in 2007, which studied the satellite's gravitational anomalies and compiled an accurate topographic map, examined traces of volcanic activity, photographed subpolar craters. The probe completed its mission in 2009.
The Japanese lunar exploration program involves the construction of a research base and the launch of a robot.
The lunar surface exploration strategy is divided into two stages. A wheeled robot will be sent to the Moon by 2015. It will transmit video images and decrypt internal structure Moon using seismographic equipment.
Over the next five years, a base research station will be built at the south pole of the Moon, with the help of which it is planned to conduct exploration and study of the surface within a radius of 100 kilometers. The station will be able to independently generate electricity, as well as take soil samples, especially valuable samples of which will be sent to Earth.
According to Japanese media reports, the budget for the entire lunar exploration strategy until 2020 will be 200 billion yen ($2.2 billion).

Israel

At the end of 2011, the development of the first lunar rover in the country's history was launched in Israel. The project must be financed at least 90% from non-state sources. As reported, the weight of the first Israeli lunar rover will be 90 kilograms, and the dimensions will be 80 by 80 centimeters.
The creators of the first Israeli lunar rover are considering the possibility of using a Russian launch vehicle to launch their vehicle into space in 2015.

The first half of the 2000s became a very difficult time for Russian cosmonautics - problems with financing led to the flooding of the Mir station in 2001, the maintenance of which required about $200 million annually. Problems with the budget partly explain the unsuccessful launch of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft ", the construction of which began in 2004.

In 2006, Roscosmos adopted a space program until 2015, which clearly lacked ambition - the document only envisaged maintaining the existing infrastructure in working order. During the same period, construction began on the Vostochny cosmodrome and the first flight of the Soyuz-2.1v rocket took place.

In the year the space program ended, Russia began to lose its position in the international space launch market and a year later lost its primacy to the United States. In 2018, Russia had 16 orbital launches, of which one ended in failure. China became the leader in the field, having launched 36 spacecraft into orbit; the United States was in second place with 30 successful orbital launches.

The decline in the number of launches is partly due to the increase in the service life of satellites, but the main reason is the high cost of launches on Russian rockets compared to competitors' offerings.

Manned programs

At the moment, Russia has only two active manned programs - the ISS orbital station and spacecraft of the Soyuz MS family. The future of both programs looks uncertain.

The Soyuz family of launch vehicles now has a serious competitor - Falcon 9 from SpaceX, satellite launches on which cost half as much as on Russian rockets. For example, launching a kilogram of cargo into orbit on the ship of Elon Musk’s company costs the customer $1.5 thousand, while on the Soyuz it costs almost $3 thousand.

Soyuz station. Photo: NASA/Shutterstock

Another problem is the accident of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle, which occurred on October 11, 2018, while trying to launch the Soyuz MS-10 manned spacecraft into orbit. The emergency rescue system made it possible to avoid the death of astronauts, but the cause of the accident turned out to be quite painful for Russia - during the separation of the first stage, one of the sensors, which is responsible for separating the stages, malfunctioned. The cause of the failure could only be poor-quality assembly of the launch vehicle - the sensor was damaged during installation.

The reputation of the Soyuz also suffered due to a hole in the ship's skin, the cause of which could not be definitively determined. The commission that investigated the incident was unable to determine whether the hole was drilled on Earth or in space.

The fate of the ISS, the largest space project in which Russia is taking part, is also unclear. Operation of the station should be completed in 2024, and the Russian side has repeatedly proposed to its partners to extend it until 2030. However, the United States, on whose funding the station critically depends, refused this proposal.

Currently, the United States annually invests more than $2.5 billion in the ISS, while Russia invests only $1.5 billion, and the European, Japanese and Canadian space agencies invest less than $1 billion combined. The US withdrawal from the project will make its continuation impossible - it is unlikely that the participating countries will be ready to increase its funding by an order of magnitude.

The likelihood that NASA will lose interest in the ISS is also increased by the project to build the lunar station Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, which in 2019 alone will cost the United States $2.7 billion. Russia will also take part in it, but as a contractor - and, Perhaps he will place his modules on it.

Russia also lacks independent access to space - the launch complex for launching Soyuz rockets at the Vostochny Cosmodrome is still missing. In addition, satellite launches into orbits with low inclinations (equatorial and close to them) require too much fuel when launched from northern spaceports. Therefore, the economically profitable cosmodromes that Russia uses are located on the territory of three other states - Kazakhstan (Baikonur), France (Kourou) and the USA (Sea Launch).

Unmanned programs

Russia does not have a single vehicle beyond Earth's orbit - and this says a lot about the country's space program. Research missions in deep and near space are carried out by the United States, the European Union, Japan, China and India - Russia is far from a leader in this direction.

It is unlikely that it will be possible to reduce the gap in the near future - the budget of the Federal Space Program, adopted for 2016–2025, has been greatly reduced recently. For ten years it amounts to 1.406 trillion rubles - instead of 2.5 trillion originally planned. Of these, the section “Fundamental Space Research” (FSR) amounts to only 143.2 billion rubles - that is, 14 billion rubles annually. It includes support for all existing research missions, as well as the development of new ones scheduled to launch in the coming decades.

A serious loss for the industry was the closure of the program for studying the Sun, which could have made a scientific revolution in astrophysics - the Interheliosonde project. The device was intended to study the solar corona and the polar regions of the star, which are not visible from Earth. The mission was canceled in February due to lack of funding and technical difficulties faced by engineers. All work on the project has been stopped.

Russia failed to launch two missions to Mars - Mars-96 and Phobos-Grunt - as well as the Foton-M1 satellite.

On April 2, 2019, Roscosmos announced the termination of the mission of Russia’s only orbital telescope, Spektr-R. Having worked for 7.5 years instead of the three planned, on January 10 the telescope stopped communicating with the Earth. Engineers tried to restart the device with four different ways, however, none of the attempts were successful.

Planned launches

The launch of the Federation will be a great success for the Russian space industry - if it ever takes place. The development of a spacecraft capable of flying to the Moon and being part of the space station for up to a year has been underway since 2005. However, the launch date of the device has been postponed many times - it is expected that the first flight of the heavy version of the Federation to the Earth’s satellite will take place after 2025.

In 2020, Roscosmos plans to take the next step in terms of creating rocket engines - then the state corporation plans to conduct the first tests of the RD-0162 engine, which should replace the RD-180. The new engine will run on methane, and liquefied oxygen will be used as an oxidizer. The engine will be able to provide a thrust of up to 200 tons. On April 1, 2019, work on it stopped - the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, stated that the funds necessary for the implementation of the project will be used to pay off the debts of the Khrunichev Center.

Between now and 2026, Roscosmos intends to launch several research missions. Among them are the Spectr-FG and Spektr-M spectrometers, which should replace the failed Russian orbital telescope, Spektr-R. In 2023, Russia, together with the European Space Agency (ESA), plans to launch the Luna-26 and Luna-28 lunar rovers to explore the Earth's satellite.

The agency has planned the Phobos-Grunt 2 mission for 2025. As part of the project, an autonomous space station must travel to Mars' satellite, Phobos, and deliver soil samples to Earth. In 2020, Roscosmos and ESA will launch the Mars 2020 program, which will search for evidence of the presence or absence of life on the Red Planet. Russia also intends to send research vehicles to Mercury, Jupiter and Venus. If there is enough money for these programs.

Space tourism

Sending tourists into space is not a new direction for Roscosmos. From 2001 to 2009, the state corporation sent seven tourists to the ISS, but then stopped providing this service due to unprofitability. However, competition with SpaceX forced the corporation to return to space tourism - and the first commercial flight will take place in 2020.

The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft will deliver tourists to the ISS, and the American company Space Adventures will search for clients. The Russian private company CosmoKurs will provide similar services from 2025. A flight on a ship she built to low-Earth orbit will take 15 minutes, its cost will be $250 thousand per passenger.

The coming year promises to be not as rich in events in astronautics as 2018. However, 2019 will be especially important for Russia and the United States, since the former will lose its monopoly on manned launches to the ISS, and the latter will begin to independently send their own astronauts into low-Earth orbit. Also of particular interest is the launch of the Beresheet mission, the success of which will make it possible to especially clearly prove that any developed state is capable of deep space exploration. talks about the main events in astronautics planned for 2019.

Related materials

The end of the Russian monopoly

The first unmanned demonstration flight of the manned Dragon 2 spacecraft is scheduled for the second half of January. The spacecraft will be launched into low-Earth orbit by a heavy Falcon 9 rocket, and the launch will be carried out from the John F. Kennedy Space Center site (northwest of Cape Canaveral). During the flight, it is planned to obtain data on the characteristics of the Falcon 9 rocket, the Dragon 2 spacecraft, the functioning of ground support systems, orbital and docking systems, and also test the landing of the device. The information collected will be used to certify SpaceX's manned systems.

The manned flight of Dragon 2 to the ISS is scheduled for June. The unmanned Starliner mission is scheduled to take place in March, with a crew in August.

An important circumstance is that the United States will have two operational manned spacecraft, the capacity and payload of which significantly exceeds the capabilities of the only Russian Soyuz MS, which, after all, is largely a Soviet design half a century ago.

Image: Nathan Koga/SpaceFlight Insider

NASA was tasked with sending humans to the surface of the Moon and Mars. This means that next year we can expect test launches of the Space Launch System rocket.

“Human flight to Mars? Yes, it’s not soon,” I’m sure almost every inhabitant of our planet will answer. However, the future is not as far away as it seems. NASA said this week that the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule are already in the process of being assembled together. This means that next year we can expect test launches of a rocket with a capsule, still without a crew. A manned flight to the Moon is planned by NASA for 2023.

Space Launch System rocket for deep space exploration

Human space exploration

Several decades have passed since manned space exploration missions ended. Yes, astronauts are constantly working on the ISS, and the United States is now even ready to independently launch astronauts to the station using the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon Crew capsule. But we still want something more - we want manned flights to the Moon and Mars.

Space Launch System SLS

For these purposes, NASA is developing and creating the SLS space launch system, which includes a two-stage rocket more than 100 meters long and 8.4 meters in diameter and the Orion spacecraft. The rocket's test flight was expected to take place back in 2017, but due to funding problems, the first unmanned launch was pushed back to 2020, and sending astronauts to the Moon is now scheduled for 2023.

Safety of manned missions

This whole process seems too long to us - again delays, again shifts in plans. But we should not forget that, unlike the launch of the InSight spacecraft to Mars, for which we also carefully prepared, in manned missions the cost of error is too high. Therefore, the requirements for the safety of the spacecraft that will carry the crew are much higher.

For example, the Orion capsule will have to return to Earth safe and sound even if the rocket turns out to be faulty. This emergency landing will be tested in June this year. The launch vehicle will lift the Orion apparatus to a height of several thousand meters, from where it will have to independently descend to Earth.

It seems like almost every week there are reports that scientists are planning to send exciting new space missions to explore the secrets of the universe, from whimsical trips to Mars to serious scientific expeditions. No wonder they're so hard to keep track of. That's why we've compiled a list of interesting space missions for the next 20 years. Please note that all dates are subject to change.

2017

March - The Planetary Society Lightsail 2 organizes the second demonstration of solar sail technology. Launch into orbit is expected.
September 15 - NASA's Cassini mission around Saturn comes to an end.
Autumn - Asgardia, a private company that wants to create the first "space nation", will launch its first unmanned satellite.
November - SpaceX will perform an unmanned test of the Crew Dragon vehicle in orbit. A manned flight is planned for May 2018.
December - Russia's long-awaited Nauka module, also called the Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module, will be launched to the International Space Station.
December - Blue Origin plans to begin manned launches into space.
December - NASA's new telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is expected to begin operations by the end of the year.
December 19 - Europe's new Characterizing Exoplanets Satellite (CHEOPS) telescope will be ready for launch.
XCOR's Lynx spaceplanes will be prepared for the start of test flights. The plane will accommodate two people for short flights into space.
Privately held Arizona company World View Enterprises wants to start sending paying customers on high-altitude balloon trips. They can spend two hours at an altitude of 30,500 meters for $75,000.
China will try to retrieve samples from the Moon using the Chang'e-5 mission. This will be the first lunar sample delivered to Earth since 1976.
Two competing companies in the Google Lunar XPRIZE - Moon Express and SpaceIL - are expected to launch and attempt to land unmanned probes on the Moon, the first in the history of private lunar landings.
SpaceX's new heavy-lift rocket, the Falcon Heavy, will launch for the first time.

2018

January is the estimated launch date for Inspiration Mars, a private mission that will send two people into Mars orbit. However, it is unlikely that the mission will ever be sent.
February - NASA's Juno mission, which is currently studying Jupiter, will end. However, the mission may be extended until 2019.
April - The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch BepiColombo, its first mission to Mercury.
May 5 - NASA plans to launch the InSight lander to Mars. Landing is expected to take place on November 26th. The unmanned probe will study inner part Red planet.
May - SpaceX plans to launch its first unmanned mission to Mars, which will also be the first private mission to the Red Planet.
June - the first test of the unmanned Boeing Starliner. The manned flight will take place in August 2018.
NASA's Solar Probe Plus mission will launch on July 31. This is the first mission to head into the Sun's upper atmosphere.
July - Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 arrives at its target - the asteroid Ryugu. It was launched on December 3, 2014 and is scheduled to return behind Earth with samples in December 2020.
August - NASA's OSIRIS-REX spacecraft will arrive at the asteroid Bennu. He will return to Earth in September 2023 with a sample ranging in size from 60 g to 2 kg.
October - NASA's huge new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launches for the first time. It will send the Orion spacecraft on a three-week mission around the Moon, although there is speculation that both the SLS and Orion could be scrapped.
October—The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the high-profile successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that has suffered numerous cost overruns and delays, is finally launched.
October - ESA plans to launch its Solar Orbiter (SOLO) mission, which will study the Sun's heliosphere, its poles and the solar wind.
December - India launches its next mission to the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 will include an orbiter, a lander and a lunar rover.
Japan will launch a new mission called Moon SELENE-2. It is the successor to the 2007 SELENE mission. Like the Indian mission, it will consist of an orbiter, a lander and a rover.
China will try to become the first country to land a probe on the far side of the Moon using the Chang'e-4 lunar lander.

2019

January 1 - New Horizons will flyby an object in the outer solar system. This is an object in the Kuiper Belt called 2014 MU69.
October - Sierra Nevada Corporation plans to launch an unmanned spaceplane using an Atlas V rocket.
The end of 2019 - the Japanese Smart Lander unmanned vehicle is expected to be launched to explore the Moon. It will be able to perform a precise landing by analyzing the surface as it approaches it.
In 2019, perhaps Virgin Galactic will finally start sending paying customers into space.
Deep Space Industries may launch its first unmanned spacecraft to an asteroid called Geologist 1.

2020

July - NASA's next Mars rover will be launched to the Red Planet. He'll have to look for signs past life on Mars. This and other missions will arrive at Mars in early 2021.
July - ESA's ExoMars rover will begin its journey to Mars, searching for signs of past or present life.
July - United United Arab Emirates plan to launch their first mission to Mars in an orbiter called Hope.
July - India will launch its second mission to Mars in an orbiter called Mangalyaan-2. It may also include a lander and a rover.
July - SpaceX may begin its next unmanned flight to Mars.
July/August - China plans to launch an orbiter, lander and rover to Mars. This will be its first mission to the Red Planet.
October - A joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, the Asteroid Impact Mission, will be launched. The goal of the mission is to change the trajectory of an asteroid due to a collision with a spacecraft. The mission is currently in jeopardy.
China's second mission to the moon, Chang'e 6, will be launched, but its goals have not yet been determined.
The Square Kilometer Array, the world's largest radio telescope with a collecting area of one square kilometer, will be turned on for the first time.
Bigelow Aerospace hopes to begin construction of the first space hotel using the B330 module.
The European Space Agency's Euclid mission will launch. It will study the acceleration of the Universe by measuring the redshift of distant galaxies, which will give us a deeper understanding of dark energy and dark matter.

2021

October - NASA launches a spacecraft called Lucy to study Jupiter's asteroids. The mission will study from August 2027 to March 2033.
NASA's Orion spacecraft will be launched to and from lunar orbit for the first time. It will have a crew. 2021 is the earliest date for this mission as it could be completed two years later.
India plans to launch its first manned flight.

2022

ESA plans to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, a spacecraft to study Jupiter's moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. It is planned that the device will enter Jupiter orbit in 2030, and Ganymede orbit in 2033.
China will launch the first part of a new large space station. This first module will be called Tiangong-3.
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), an extremely large telescope to be built in Hawaii or the Canary Islands, is scheduled to be operational.
At some point in the mid-2020s, perhaps 2022, NASA will launch its Europa Multiple-Flyby Mission. This spacecraft will study Jupiter's satellite Europa, more precisely, its subsurface ocean and the possibility of its habitability. It may also include a lander.
Japan may launch a mission to retrieve a sample from Mars' moon Phobos.

2023

October - NASA plans to launch the Psyche mission to study the metal-rich asteroid of the same name in 2030.

2024

SpaceX plans to launch the first manned mission to Mars. This is part of the Interplanetary Transport System project.
ESA may launch a mission, called Phootprint, to the Martian moon Phobos to obtain samples.
The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), the world's largest optical telescope, will be commissioned.
There are plans to close the International Space Station and remove it from orbit. This date could be pushed back to 2028 or even later.
The European Space Agency's Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars satellite is expected to launch. It will look for planetary systems beyond our own, with an emphasis on Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars.

2025

At some point in the mid-2020s, NASA could launch a mission to bring back a sample of material from the surface of Mars to Earth.
NASA plans to launch its Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) in the mid-2020s. He will study dark energy and look for planetary systems like ours.

2026

Proposed launch year for NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The goal of the mission is to send a crew in an Orion capsule to a captured asteroid in lunar orbit. It could be combined with the previous Orion mission.
Proposed launch date for the first crew of the Mars One mission. However, since the announcement of this program in 2012, the chances of this happening have largely diminished.

2028

The European Space Agency plans to launch the Athena mission, a space telescope that will image hot gas in the Universe and also study supermassive black holes.

Early 2030s

NASA could launch humans into Mars orbit, possibly landing on the Martian moon Phobos and using rovers on the surface of Mars. NASA is aiming for manned missions to the surface of Mars in the late 2030s.
Around this time, China and Russia have preliminary plans to land people on the Moon.

2031

The Russian spacecraft Mercury-P is planned to be launched, which will perform the first ever landing on Mercury.
Russia wants to carry out its first manned landing on the Moon.