In 2011, the United States found itself without space vehicles capable of delivering humans into low-Earth orbit. American engineers are now building more new manned spacecraft than ever before, with private companies leading the way, meaning space exploration will become much cheaper. In this article we will talk about seven planned vehicles, and if at least some of these projects come to fruition, a new golden age in manned space flight will begin.

• Type: habitable capsule Creator: Space Exploration Technologies / Elon Musk
• Launch date: 2015
• Purpose: flights to orbit (to the ISS)
• Chances of success: very decent

When Elon Musk founded his company Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, in 2002, skeptics saw no prospects. However, by 2010, his startup became the first private enterprise that managed to replicate what had until then been a state diocese. A Falcon 9 rocket launched an unmanned Dragon capsule into orbit.

The next step on Musk’s path to space is the development, based on the Dragon reusable capsule, of a device capable of carrying people on board. It will be named DragonRider and is intended for flights to the ISS. Using an innovative approach in both design and operating principles, SpaceX says it will cost only $20 million per seat to transport passengers (a passenger seat on the Russian Soyuz currently costs the US $63 million).

Path to the manned capsule

Upgraded interior

The capsule will be equipped for a crew of seven people. Already inside the unmanned version, earth pressure is maintained, so it will not be difficult to adapt it for human habitation.

Wider windows

Through them, astronauts will be able to observe the process of docking with the ISS. Future modifications of the capsule - with the ability to land on a jet stream - will require an even wider view.

Additional engines developing 54 tons of thrust for emergency ascent into orbit in the event of a launch vehicle accident.

Dream Chaser - Descendant of the Space Shuttle

• Type: rocket-launched spaceplane Made by: Sierra Nevada Space Systems
• Planned launch into orbit: 2017
• Purpose: orbital flights
• Chances of success: good

Of course, space planes have certain advantages. Unlike an ordinary passenger capsule, which, falling through the atmosphere, can only slightly adjust its trajectory, shuttles are capable of performing maneuvers during descent and even changing the destination airfield. In addition, they can be reused after a short service. However, the crashes of two American shuttles showed that space planes are by no means an ideal means for orbital expeditions. Firstly, it is expensive to transport cargo on the same vehicles as the crews, because by using a purely cargo ship, you can save on safety and life support systems.

Secondly, attaching the shuttle to the side of the boosters and fuel tank increases the risk of damage from accidentally falling off elements of these structures, which was the cause of the death of the Columbia shuttle. But Sierra Nevada Space Systems vows to clear the orbital spaceplane's reputation. To do this, she has the Dream Chaser, a winged vehicle for delivering crews to the space station. The company is already fighting for NASA contracts. The Dream Chaser design eliminates the major shortcomings of older space shuttles. Firstly, they now intend to transport cargo and crews separately. And secondly, now the ship will be mounted not on the side, but on top of the Atlas V launch vehicle. At the same time, all the advantages of the shuttles will be preserved.

Suborbital flights of the device are scheduled for 2015, and it will be launched into orbit two years later.

How is it inside?

This device can send seven people into space at once. The ship launches on top of the rocket.

At a given area, it is separated from the carrier and can then moor to the docking station space station.

Dream Chaser has never flown into space, but it's ready to at least run on the runway. In addition, it was dropped from helicopters, testing the aerodynamic capabilities of the ship.

New Shepard - Amazon's Secret Ship

• Type: habitable capsule Creator: Blue Origin / Jeff Bezos
• Launch date: unknown
• Chances of success: good

Jeff Bezos, the 49-year-old founder of Amazon.com and a billionaire with his own vision of the future, has been implementing secret plans for space exploration for more than ten years. Bezos has already invested many millions of his $25 billion capital into a daring venture called Blue Origin. His vehicle will take off from an experimental launch pad, which was built (with FAA approval, of course) in a remote corner of West Texas.

In 2011, the company published footage showing a cone-shaped missile system New Shepard. It takes off vertically to a height of one and a half hundred meters, hovers there for a while, and then smoothly descends to the ground using a jet stream. According to the project, in the future the launch vehicle will be able, having thrown the capsule to a suborbital altitude, to independently return to the cosmodrome using its own engine. This is a much more economical scheme than catching the used stage in the ocean after splashdown.

After Internet entrepreneur Jeff Bezos founded his space company in 2000, he kept its very existence a secret for three years. The company launches its experimental vehicles (like the capsule pictured) from a private spaceport in West Texas.

The system consists of two parts.

A crew capsule that maintains normal Atmosphere pressure, separates from the carrier and flies to an altitude of 100 km. The propulsion engine allows the rocket to make a vertical landing near the launch pad. The capsule itself is then returned to earth using a parachute.

The launch vehicle lifts the vehicle from the launch pad.

SpaceShipTwo - Pioneer in the tourism business

• Type: spaceship, launched in mid-air from a carrier aircraft Creator: Virgin Galactic /
• Richard Branson
• Launch date: scheduled for 2014
• Purpose: suborbital flights
• Chances of success: very good

The first of the SpaceShipTwo vehicles during a test glide flight. In the future, four more similar devices will be built, which will begin to carry tourists. 600 people have already signed up for the flight, including celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The device, built by the famous designer Burt Rutan in collaboration with tycoon Richard Branson, owner of the Virgin Group, laid the foundation for the future of space tourism. Why not take everyone into space? IN new version This device will be able to accommodate six tourists and two pilots. The journey into space will consist of two parts. First, the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft (its length is 18 m and its wingspan is 42) will lift the SpaceShipTwo apparatus to an altitude of 15 km.

Then the jet will separate from the carrier aircraft, start its own engines and blast off into space. At an altitude of 108 km, passengers will have an excellent view of the curvature earth's surface, and the serene glow of the earth’s atmosphere - and all this against the backdrop of the black depths of space. A ticket costing a quarter of a million dollars will allow travelers to enjoy weightlessness, but for only four minutes.

Inspiration Mars - Kiss over the Red Planet

• Type: interplanetary transport Creator: Inspiration Mars Foundation / Dennis Tito
• Launch date: 2018
• Purpose: flight to Mars
• Chances of success: doubtful

Honeymoon (lasting a year and a half) on an interplanetary expedition? The Inspiration Mars fund, run by former NASA engineer, investment specialist and first space tourist Dennis Tito, wants to offer this opportunity to the chosen couple. Tito's group hopes to take advantage of the parade of planets that will occur in 2018 (this happens once every 15 years). “Parade” will allow you to fly from Earth to Mars and return along a free return trajectory, that is, without burning additional fuel. Next year, Inspiration Mars will begin accepting applications for a 501-day expedition.

The ship will have to fly at a distance of 150 km from the surface of Mars. To participate in the flight, it is supposed to choose a married couple - perhaps newlyweds (an important question psychological compatibility). “The Inspiration Mars fund estimates that it will need to raise $1-2 billion. We are laying the groundwork for things that were previously unthinkable, such as going to other planets,” says Marco Caceres, head of space exploration at the Teal Group.

• Type: Self-propelled space plane Created by: XCOR Aerospace
• Planned launch date: 2014
• Purpose: suborbital flights
• Chances of success: quite decent

California-based XCOR Aerospace, headquartered in Mojave, believes it holds the key to the cheapest suborbital flights. The company is already selling tickets for its 9-meter Lynx device, designed for just two passengers. Tickets cost $95,000.

Unlike other spaceplanes and passenger capsules, the Lynx does not require a launch vehicle to reach space. Having launched jet engines specially developed for this project (they will burn kerosene with liquid oxygen), Lynx will take off from the runway in a horizontal direction, as a conventional plane does, and only after accelerating will soar steeply along its space trajectory. The first test flight of the device may take place in the coming months.

Takeoff: The space plane accelerates down the runway.

Ascent: Having reached Mach 2.9, it climbs steeply.

Goal: Approximately 3 minutes after takeoff, the engines shut down. The plane follows a parabolic trajectory, rushing through suborbital space.

Return to the dense layers of the atmosphere and landing.

The device gradually slows down, cutting circles in a downward spiral.

Orion - Passenger capsule for a large company

• Type: manned ship of increased volume for interstellar flights
• Creator: NASA / US Congress
• Launch date: 2021–2025

NASA has already, without regret, ceded flights to near-Earth orbit to private companies, but the agency has not yet given up its claims to deep space. The multi-purpose manned spacecraft Orion may fly to planets and asteroids. It will consist of a capsule docked with a module, which, in turn, will contain a power plant with a fuel supply, as well as a living compartment. The first test flight of the capsule will take place in 2014. It will be launched into space by a 70 m long Delta launch vehicle. Then the capsule must return to the atmosphere and land in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

A new rocket will apparently be built for the long-distance expeditions for which Orion is being prepared. Work is already underway at NASA's Huntsville, Alabama, facility on the new 98-meter Space Launch System rocket. This super-heavy transport must be ready for the moment when (and if) NASA astronauts decide to fly to the Moon, to some asteroid, or even further. “We're increasingly thinking about Mars,” says Dan Dambacher, director of NASA's Exploration Systems Development Division, “as our primary goal.” True, some critics say that such claims are somewhat excessive. The projected system is so huge that NASA will be able to use it no more than once every two years, since one launch will cost $6 billion.

When will man set foot on an asteroid?

In 2025, NASA plans to send astronauts in the Orion spacecraft to one of the asteroids located near Earth - 1999AO10. The journey should take five months.

Launch: Orion, with a crew of four, will take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Flight: After five days of flight, Orion, using the gravity of the Moon, will make a turn around it and set a course for 1999AO10.

Meeting: astronauts will fly to the asteroid two months after launch. They will spend two weeks on its surface, but there is no talk of actual landing. there is talk, since this space rock has too weak gravity. Rather, crew members will simply anchor their ship to the asteroid's surface and collect mineral samples.

Return: since asteroid 1999AO10 has been gradually approaching Earth all this time, the return journey will be slightly shorter. Having reached low-Earth orbit, the capsule will separate from the ship and splash down in the ocean.

Dragon (SpaceX) is a private transport spacecraft of the SpaceX company, developed by order of NASA, designed to deliver and return payload and, in the future, people to the International Space Station.
The Dragon ship is being developed in several modifications: cargo, manned "Dragon v2" (crew of up to 7 people), cargo-passenger (crew of 4 people + 2.5 tons of cargo), the maximum weight of the ship with cargo on the ISS can be 7.5 tons, also a modification for autonomous flights (DragonLab).

On May 29, 2014, the company presented a manned version of the Dragon reusable vehicle, which will allow the crew not only to get to the ISS, but to return to Earth with full control of the landing procedure. The Dragon capsule will be able to accommodate seven astronauts at a time. Unlike the cargo version, it is capable of docking with the ISS independently, without the use of the station’s manipulator. Main astronauts and control panel. It is also stated that the descent capsule will be reusable, the first unmanned flight is scheduled for 2015, and a manned flight for 2016.
In July 2011, it became known that the Ames Research Center was developing the concept of the Red Dragon Mars exploration mission using the Falcon Heavy carrier and the SpaceX Dragon capsule.

SPACESHIPTWO

SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is a private, manned, reusable suborbital spacecraft. It is part of the Tier One program founded by Paul Allen and is based on the successful SpaceShipOne project.
The device will be delivered to the launch altitude (about 20 km) using the White Knight Two (WK2) aircraft. The maximum flight altitude is 135-140 km (according to BBC information) or 160-320 km (according to an interview with Burt Rutan), which will increase the weightlessness time to 6 minutes. Maximum overload - 6 g. All flights are scheduled to begin and end at the same airport in Mojave, California. The initial expected ticket price is $200 thousand. The first test flight took place in March 2010. About a hundred test flights are planned. Commencement of commercial operation - no earlier than 2015.

DREAM CHASER

Dream Chaser is a reusable manned spacecraft being developed by the American company SpaceDev. The ship is designed to deliver cargo and crews of up to 7 people to low Earth orbit.
In January 2014, it was announced that the first uncrewed orbital test flight was scheduled to launch on November 1, 2016; If the test program is successfully completed, the first manned flight will take place in 2017.
Dream Chaser will be launched into space on top of an Atlas 5 rocket. Landing - horizontal, airplane. It is assumed that it will be possible not only to plan, like the Space Shuttle, but also to fly independently and land on any runway of at least 2.5 km in length. The body of the device is made of composite materials, with ceramic thermal protection, the crew is from two to seven people.

NEW SHEPARD

Designed for use in space tourism, New Shepard is a reusable launch vehicle from Blue Origin that will have vertical take-off and landing capabilities. Blue Origin is a company owned by Amazon.com founder and businessman Jeff Bezos. New Shepard will begin traveling to suborbital heights, and in addition will conduct experiments in space, then perform a vertical landing for nutrition and recovery and reuse vehicle.
Reusable spacecraft New Shepard is capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
In accordance with the developers' idea, New Shepard can be used to deliver people and equipment into space to a suborbital altitude of about 100 km above sea level. At this altitude it is possible to conduct experiments in microgravity conditions. It is noted that the spacecraft can accommodate up to three crew members on board. After the vertical start of the device, the engine compartment (occupies about 3/4 of the entire device, located in the lower part) operates for 2.5 minutes. Next, the engine compartment is separated from the cockpit and makes an independent vertical landing. The cabin with the crew, after completing all the planned work in orbit, is capable of landing on its own; it is planned to use parachutes for its descent and landing.

ORION, MPCV

Orion, MPCV, is a US multi-mission, partially reusable manned spacecraft developed since the mid-2000s as part of the Constellation program. The goal of this program was to return Americans to the Moon, and the Orion ship was intended to deliver people and cargo to the International Space Station and for flights to the Moon, as well as to Mars in the future.
Initially, the test flight of the spacecraft was scheduled for 2013, the first manned flight with a crew of two astronauts was planned for 2014, and the start of flights to the Moon for 2019-2020. At the end of 2011, it was assumed that the first flight without astronauts would take place in 2014, and the first manned flight in 2017. In December 2013, plans were announced for the first unmanned test flight (EFT-1) using the Delta 4 launch vehicle in September 2014, The first unmanned launch using the SLS launch vehicle is planned for 2017. In March 2014, the first unmanned test flight (EFT-1) using the Delta 4 carrier was postponed to December 2014.
The Orion spacecraft will carry both cargo and astronauts into space. When flying to the ISS, the Orion crew can include up to 6 astronauts. It was planned to send four astronauts on the expedition to the Moon. The Orion ship was supposed to ensure the delivery of people to the Moon for a long stay on it in order to subsequently prepare a manned flight to Mars.

LYNX MARK

The main purpose of the Lynx Mark I will be tourism. Taking off horizontally from a conventional airfield, the machine will gain altitude up to 42 kilometers, maintaining a speed twice the speed of sound. Then the engines will turn off, but the Lynx Mark I will rise by inertia another 19 kilometers. At the very peak of the altitude range available to the ship, it will experience approximately four minutes of weightlessness, after which it will re-enter the atmosphere and, gliding, land on the airfield. The maximum overload during descent will be 4 g. The entire flight will take no more than half an hour. At the same time, the rocket plane is designed for intensive work: four flights per day with maintenance after every 40 flights (10 days of flights).
From the point of view of space tourism, the device has a number of undeniable advantages, the main one of which is its not too high speed both on ascent and descent. This allows the thermal protection shell to be reliable, but not disposable, like the SpaceX Dragon.
Considering that the cost of a two-seat orbital plane, according to the company’s promises, will not exceed $10 million, with four flights a day the device will quickly pay for itself. After this, the more ambitious Lynx Mark II and III will be created, with an orbital flight altitude of 100 kilometers, capable of carrying a load of up to 650 kilograms.

CST-100

CST-100 (from the English Crew Space Transportation) is a manned transport spacecraft developed by Boeing. This is Boeing's space debut, created as part of the Commercial Manned Spacecraft Program, organized and funded by NASA.
The CST-100 head fairing will be used to increase the air flow around the capsule, and after leaving the atmosphere it will be separated. Behind the panel is a docking port for docking with the ISS and, presumably, other orbital stations. To control the device, 3 pairs of engines are designed: two on the sides for maneuvering, two main ones that create the main thrust, and two additional ones. The capsule is equipped with two windows: front and side. CST-100 consists of two modules: the instrumentation compartment and the descent module. The latter is designed to ensure the normal existence of astronauts on board the vehicle and storage of cargo, while the former includes all the necessary flight control systems and will be separated from the descent vehicle before entering the atmosphere.
The device will in the future be used to deliver cargo and crew. The CST-100 will be able to transport a team of 7 people. It is assumed that the device will deliver crew to the International Space Station and the Bigelow Aerospace Orbital Space Complex. Duration when docked with the ISS is up to 6 months.
The CST-100 is designed for relatively short trips. The "100" in the ship's name means 100 km or 62 miles (low Earth orbit).
One of the features of the CST-100 is additional orbital maneuvering capabilities: if the fuel in the system separating the capsule and the launch vehicle is not used (in the event of an unsuccessful launch), it can then be consumed in orbit.
It is planned to reuse the descent capsule up to 10 times.
The return of the capsule to Earth will be ensured by disposable thermal protection, parachutes and inflatable cushions (for the final stage of landing).
In May 2014, the first unmanned test launch of the CST-100 was announced in January 2017. The first orbital flight of a manned spacecraft with two astronauts is planned for mid-2017. The launch will use the Atlas-5 launch vehicle. Also, docking with the ISS is not excluded.

PPTS -PTK NP

Promising manned transport system(PPTS) and New Generation Manned Transport Ship (PTK NP) are the temporary official names of the Russian launch vehicle and multi-purpose manned partially reusable spacecraft projects.
Under these temporary official names lie Russian projects represented by a launch vehicle and a multi-purpose manned spacecraft, which is partially reusable. It is this that in the future will have to replace the manned spacecraft represented by the Soyuz series, as well as the automatic cargo ships of the Progress program.
The creation of the PCA was determined by certain government goals and objectives. Among them is the fact that the ship will have to provide national security, be technologically independent, allow the state to have unhindered access to outer space, fly into lunar orbit and land there.
The crew can consist of a maximum of six people, and if it is a flight to the Moon, then no more than four. The delivered cargo can reach 500 kg in weight, and the weight of the returned cargo can be the same.
The spacecraft will enter orbit using the new Amur launch vehicle.
As for the engine compartment of the descent vehicle, it is planned to use only environmentally friendly fuel components, including ethyl alcohol and gaseous oxygen. Up to 8 tons of fuel can fit inside the engine compartment.
It is expected that the territory of the landing sites will be located in the south of Russia. Landing of the descent vehicle will be carried out using three parachutes. This will also be facilitated by the soft landing jet system. Previously, developers adhered to the idea of ​​​​using completely jet system, which would include backup parachutes for situations where the engines fail.

The opening sequence of the series “The Expanse”: a schematic depiction of the spread of humanity across solar system

I prepared a short article for the magazine Popular Mechanics - a forecast for the development of astronautics. The material “5 Scenarios for the Future” (No. 4, 2016) included only a small part of the article - just one paragraph :) I am publishing the full version!

Part one: near future - 2020-2030

At the beginning of the new decade, humans will return to cislunar space as part of NASA's Flexible Path program. The new American super-heavy rocket Space Launch System (SLS), the first launch of which is scheduled for 2018, will help with this. Payload - 70 tons at the first stage, up to 130 tons at subsequent stages. Let me remind you that the Russian Proton has a payload of only 22 tons, the new Angara-A5 has about 24 tons. The state Orion spacecraft is also being built in the USA.

SLS
Source: NASA

American private companies will provide delivery of astronauts and cargo to the ISS. Initially, two ships - Dragon V2 and CST-100, then others will follow (possibly winged ones - for example, Dream Chaser, not only in cargo, but also in passenger version).

The ISS will operate at least until 2024 (possibly longer, especially the Russian segment).

Then NASA will announce a competition for a new near-Earth base, which will probably be won by Bigelow Aerospace with its project for a station with inflatable modules.

It can be predicted that by the end of the 2020s there will be several private manned orbital stations in orbit for various purposes(from tourism to orbital satellite assembly).

Using a heavy rocket (with a payload capacity of slightly more than 50 tons, sometimes classified as super-heavy) Falcon Heavy and Dragon V2, made by Elon Musk, tourist flights into orbit around the Moon are quite possible - not just a flyby, but work in lunar orbit - closer to the mid-2020s.

Also, closer to the mid-to-late 2020s, a competition from NASA for the creation of lunar transport infrastructure (private expeditions and a private lunar base) is likely. According to recently published estimates, private investors will need about $10 billion in government funding to return to the Moon in the foreseeable (less than 10 years) time.

Layout of the lunar base private company Bigelow Aerospace
Source: Bigelow Aerospace

Thus, the “Flexible Path” leads NASA to Mars (an expedition to Phobos - in the early 30s, to the surface of Mars - only in the 40s, unless there is a powerful accelerating impulse from society), and low Earth orbit and even the Moon will be given up private business.

In addition, new telescopes will be put into operation, which will make it possible to find not only tens of thousands of exoplanets, but also to measure the spectra of the atmospheres of the nearest ones using direct observations. I would venture to assume that before the year 30, evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life will be obtained (oxygen atmosphere, IR signatures of vegetation, etc.), and the question of the Great Filter and the Fermi Paradox will arise again.

There will be new flights of probes to asteroids, gas giants (to Jupiter’s satellite Europa, to Saturn’s satellites Titan and Enceladus, as well as to Uranus or Neptune), the first private interplanetary probes will appear (the Moon, Venus, possibly Mars with asteroids).

Talk about resource extraction on astroids until the year 30 will remain just talk. Unless private traders conduct small technological experiments together with government agencies.

Tourist suborbital systems will begin to fly en masse—hundreds of people will visit the edge of space.

China will build its own multi-module orbital station in the early 20s, and by the middle to the end of the decade it will carry out a manned flight around the Moon. It will also launch many interplanetary probes (for example, the Chinese Mars rover), but it will not take first place in astronautics. Although it will be in third or fourth place - right behind the United States and large private traders.

At best, Russia will preserve “pragmatic space”—communications, navigation, remote sensing of the Earth, as well as the Soviet legacy of manned space exploration. Cosmonauts will fly to the Russian segment of the ISS on Soyuz, and after the US withdraws from the project, the Russian segment will probably form a separate station - much smaller than the Soviet Mir and even smaller than the Chinese station. But this will be enough to save the industry. Even in terms of launch vehicles, Russia will fall back to 3-4th place. But this will be enough to fulfill tasks of national economic importance. In the worst case scenario, after the completion of the operation of the ISS, the manned direction in cosmonautics in Russia will be completely closed, and in the most optimistic scenario, a lunar program will be announced with real (and not in the mid-2030s) deadlines and clear control, which will allow already in the mid-2020s x to carry out landings on the Moon. But such a scenario, alas, is unlikely.

New countries will join the club of space powers, including several countries with manned programs - India, Iran, even North Korea. And this is not to mention private companies: by the end of the decade there will be a lot of manned orbital private vehicles - but hardly more than a dozen.

Many small companies will create their own ultra-light and lightweight rockets. Moreover, some of them will gradually increase payload- and enter the middle and even heavy classes.

Fundamentally new launch vehicles will not appear; people will fly on rockets, but reusability of the first stages or salvage of engines will become the norm. It is likely that experiments will be conducted with aerospace reusable systems, new fuels, and structures. Perhaps by the end of the 20s a single-stage reusable launch vehicle will be built and begin to fly.

Part two: the transformation of humanity into a space civilization - from 2030 to the end of the 21st century

There are many bases on the Moon, both public and private. The natural satellite of the Earth is used as a resource base (energy, ice, various components of regolith), an experimental and scientific testing ground where space technologies for long-distance flights are tested, infrared telescopes are located in shaded craters, and back side- radio telescopes.

The moon is included in the earth's economy - the energy of lunar power plants (fields solar panels and solar concentrators built from local resources) is transmitted both to space tugs in near-Earth space and to Earth. The problem of delivering matter from the surface of the Moon to low Earth orbit (braking in the atmosphere and capture) has been solved. Lunar hydrogen and oxygen are used in cislunar and near-Earth refueling stations. Of course, these are all just the first experiments, but private companies are already making fortunes from them. Helium-3 is so far mined only in small quantities for experiments related to thermonuclear rocket engines.

There is a scientific colony station on Mars. A joint project of “private investors” (mainly Elon Musk) and states (mainly the USA). People have the opportunity to return to Earth, but many fly away new world forever. The first experiments on the possible terraforming of the planet. On Phobos there is a transshipment base for heavy interplanetary ships.

Mars base
Source: Bryan Versteeg

There are many probes throughout the solar system, the purpose of which is to prepare for exploration and search for resources. Flights of high-speed vehicles with nuclear power propulsion systems into the Kuiper belt to the recently discovered gas giant - the ninth planet. Rovers on Mercury, balloons, floating, flying probes on Venus, studying the satellites of the giant planets (for example, submarines in the seas of Titan).

Distributed networks of space telescopes make it possible to detect exoplanets by direct observation and even make (very low-resolution) maps of planets around nearby stars. Large automatic observatories have been sent to the focus of the Sun's gravitational lens.

Single-stage reusable launch vehicles have been deployed and are in operation; non-rocket methods of delivering cargo - mechanical and electromagnetic catapults - are actively used on the Moon.

There are many tourist space stations flying around. There are several stations - scientific institutes with artificial gravity (torus station).

Heavy manned interplanetary spacecraft have not only reached Mars and ensured the deployment of a colony base on the Red Planet, but are also actively exploring the asteroid belt. Many expeditions have been sent to near-Earth asteroids, and an expedition to the orbit of Venus has been carried out. Preparations have begun for the deployment of research bases near the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. Perhaps the giant planets will become the target of the first test flight of an interplanetary spacecraft with a thermonuclear engine with magnetic plasma confinement.

Weather balloon launch on Titan

At the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget these days, Chinese representatives invited Roscosmos to participate in the Chinese space station project. As the head of the state corporation, Igor Komarov, said, there is no agreement or plans: the stations have different orbital inclinations. So far, Russia has no plans to join the project. The plan of the station in question is relatively finalized. The Chinese manned space program itself is young - the first Chinese taikunaut appeared less than a decade and a half ago.

However, after the closure of the ISS project in the 20s of this century, China may be one - if not the only - of the countries with a functioning station in Earth orbit.

ISS Closed Club

Both projects stretch back almost half a century into the past of the Cold War. Plans for an international multi-module space station called Freedom were announced in 1984 under Reagan. The 40th president of the United States inherited from his predecessor one of the most expensive orbital carriers in the history of the Space Shuttle and not a single permanent orbital station, and the new leadership in the United States always likes to appoint new areas of astronautics.

Fortunately, Mir-2 did not remain just a fantasy of the Orbiter simulator modellers: through the PMA-1 adapter, the Zarya modules and the Mir-2 base unit, which became the Zvezda, were connected to the American segment.

Over eighteen years in orbit, the ISS has acquired its current scope. The station, which has become one of the most expensive structures of humanity, has been visited by citizens of several dozen countries, many countries are conducting experiments on it - you just need to be a partner.

But only the United States, its allies and Russia, which has joined, have membership in the project. Does not participate in the ISS along with others, for example, India or South Korea. Other countries have real barriers to participation. Most likely, not a single Chinese citizen will ever be on board the station. The probable reason for this is geopolitical motives and political hostility. For example, all researchers at the American space agency NASA are prohibited from working with Chinese citizens associated with Chinese government or private organizations.

Fast start

Therefore, China is walking alone in space. It seems that it has always been this way: the Soviet-Chinese split prevented us from borrowing the experience of early Soviet launches. All that China managed to do before him was to adopt experience in creating the R-2 rocket, an improved copy of the German V-2. In the seventies and eighties of the last century, as part of the Intercosmos program, the USSR launched citizens of friendly states into orbit. And there was not a single Chinese here. Technological exchanges between China and Russia resumed only in the 2000s.

The first tykunaut appeared in 2003. The Shenzhou-5 apparatus was launched into orbit by Yang Liwei. Although much later, China became the third nation in the world after the USSR and the USA to create the possibility of putting a person into Earth orbit. The answer to the question of how independently this work was carried out is a matter for those who like to argue. But the Shenzhou ship, both externally and internally, resembles the Soviet Soyuz, and one of the world-famous Russian scientists received 11 years in prison on charges of transferring space technology to China.

In 2008, the People's Republic of China completed a spacewalk on Shenzhou-7. Taikunaut Zhai Zhigang was protected from space by the “Feitian” spacesuit, created in the likeness of the Russian “Orlan-M”.

China launched its first space station, Tiangong-1, into orbit in 2011. Externally, the station resembles the early devices of the Salyut series: it consisted of one module and did not provide for expansion or docking of more than one ship. The station arrived at the specified orbit. A month later, the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8 was automatically docked. The ship undocked and docked again to test the rendezvous and docking systems. In the summer of 2012, Tiangong-1 was visited by two crews of taikunauts.

"Tiangong-1"

In world history, human launch was 1961, spacewalk was 1965, automatic docking was 1967, docking with a space station was 1971. China was rapidly repeating the space records that the USA and USSR set generations ago, it was increasing its experience and technology, even if resorting to copying.

Visits to the first Chinese space station did not last long, only a few days. As you can see, this was not quite a full-fledged station - it was created to test rendezvous and docking technologies. Two crews - and they left her.

On this moment Tiangong-1 is gradually leaving orbit, the remains of the device will fall to Earth somewhere at the end of 2017. This will probably be an uncontrolled derailment, since communication with the station has been lost.

Basic module "Tianhe"

In the design of the 22-ton Tianhe, there are noticeable similarities with the base module of the Mir and Zvezda of the ISS, which originated from the Salyut. In the front part of the module there is a docking unit; a robotic manipulator, gyrodynes and solar panels are located outside. Inside the module there is an area for storing supplies and scientific experiments. The crew of the module is 3 people.

Scientific module "Wentian"

The two scientific modules will have approximately the same size as Tianhe and approximately the same mass - 20 tons. They want to install another smaller robotic manipulator on the Wentian for conducting experiments in outer space and a small airlock chamber.

Scientific module "Mengtian"

The Mengtian has a gateway for spacewalks and an additional docking port.

Due to the paucity of available information, the Bisbos.com illustration takes liberties with assumptions and conjectures, but gives a good idea of ​​the future station. Here, in addition to the station modules, there is a Tianzhou model cargo ship (in the upper left corner) and a Shenzhou series crew ship (in the lower right corner).

Perhaps these plans could be combined with the Chinese project. But on June 19, the head of Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, said that there are no such plans yet:

They offered, we exchange offers to participate in projects, but they have a different inclination, a different orbit and plans that are somewhat different from ours. While there are agreements and plans for the future, there is nothing concrete.

He recalled that the Chinese space station project is a national project, although other countries can participate in it. On the other hand, to representatives of RIA Novosti the director of the department international cooperation Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) Xu Yansong said that the project could become international.

The cited problem in the station's location is inclination, one of the most important characteristics of the orbit of any satellite. This is the angle between the orbital plane and the reference plane - in this case, the Earth's equator.

The orbital inclination of the International Space Station is 51.6°, which is interesting in itself. The fact is that when launching an artificial Earth satellite, it is most economical to increase the speed given by the rotation of the planet, that is, launch with an inclination equal to the latitude. The latitude of Cape Canaveral in the USA, where the shuttle launch pads are located, is 28°, Baikonur - 46°. Therefore, when choosing a configuration, a concession was made to one of the parties. In addition, from the resulting station you can photograph much more land. They are usually launched from Baikonur with an inclination of 51.6° so that the spent stages and the rocket itself do not fall onto the territory of Mongolia or China in the event of an accident.

The Russian modules separated from the ISS will maintain an orbital inclination of 51.6°, unless, of course, it is changed, which is very energy-intensive - it will require maneuvers in orbit, that is, fuel and engines, probably from Progress. Statements about the Russian National Space Station also hinted at operating at an inclination of 64.8° - this is necessary for launching devices to it from the Plesetsk cosmodrome.

In any case, all this is different from the announced Chinese plans. According to the presentations, the Chinese space station will be launched at an inclination of 42°-43° with an orbital altitude of 340-450 kilometers above sea level. Such an inclination discrepancy excludes the creation of a joint Russian-Chinese space station similar to the ISS.

Current life expectancy estimates that the ISS will last until at least 2024. The station has no successors. NASA has no plans to create its own space station in low Earth orbit and is concentrating its efforts on a flight to Mars. There are only plans to create the Deep Space Gateway module as a transfer point between the Earth and the Moon on the way to deep space, to the red planet. Probably, for a new round of international cooperation, the geopolitical climate of the early nineties and the present day differs significantly.

When creating the ISS, the Russian side was invited not only for the sake of technology, but also for experience. At that time, in the United States, orbital experiments were carried out on short-term flights of the reusable Spacelab laboratory, and experience at long-term orbital stations was limited to three Skylab crews in the seventies. The USSR and its specialists had unique knowledge of the continuous operation of stations of this type, the life of the crew on board and the conduct of scientific experiments. Perhaps the recent proposal of the PRC to participate in the Chinese space station project is precisely an attempt to adopt this experience.

Russian orbital station, which will replace the ISS, will be eternal, according to the annual report. talks about the largest near-Earth laboratory currently operating, the prospects of the Russian station and the space plans of other countries, primarily the USA and China.

The ISS is planned to operate until at least 2024. After this, the work of the laboratory will be completed or extended for another four years. The ISS partners, primarily the US, Russia, and Japan, have not yet made a decision. Meanwhile, the future of the ISS is directly related to the development of new space technologies.

Deadline

After the separation of the Russian segment from the ISS, the Russian orbital laboratory will consist of three modules: a multi-purpose laboratory with improved operational characteristics “Nauka”, a hub “Prichal” and a scientific and energy module. Later, the national station is planned to be equipped with three more modules - transformable, gateway and energy.

the main objective laboratory - to become a platform for testing technologies for deep space exploration. As reported in the annual report of the RSC, “continuous operation of the station is expected by replacing modules that have exhausted their service life.” Although the first three modules should be part of the ISS, none of them have yet been launched to the station. The reasons are still the same. Consider, for example, the situation with the Science module.

The Deputy Prime Minister agreed with him. “The issue of the future of manned programs must be discussed, and not go with the flow, being responsible only for the process, but not for the result. This expert’s opinion is worth listening to and not habitually dismissing. We expect an objective analysis of the situation and specific proposals from Roscosmos. Otherwise, we will lag behind not only the United States, but also other space powers. All that will remain is nostalgia for the old days,”