Vladimir Kozhevnikov — about when the adjusted draft design of the ROS will be handed over to Roscosmos, when the first crew will go to the station, which ships will be launched to it
At a meeting with young scientists and specialists of the space industry, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the first module of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) could be put into orbit in 2027 as the ISS resources are exhausted. According to him, the decision on the ROS should be taken promptly. At the same time, the station itself should ensure Russia's interests in security and economic issues as much as possible.
Vladimir Kozhevnikov, Deputy General Designer of RSC Energia, Chief Designer of ROS, told TASS in an interview about when the adjusted draft design of ROS will be handed over to Roscosmos, when the first crew will go to the station, which ships will be launched to it.
— Vladimir Evgenievich, when will the defense of the draft design of the Russian Orbital Station be completed?
— Protection of the preliminary design (EP) is already underway. Its development was completed on June 9, at the Scientific and Technical Council of the Presidium of the NTS (Scientific and Technical Council - approx. TASS) RSC (Rocket and Space Corporation — approx. TASS) "Energia" with the participation of representatives of the state corporation "Roscosmos" and cooperative enterprises, a draft project was presented.
The preliminary draft of the composition is about 1,500 volumes of e—books. I don't know about the industry, but at RSC Energia we definitely developed it electronically for the first time. There was no such volume of documentation within the framework of a draft project in modern Russia.
1,500 volumes include the study of the entire complex: technical complexes of cosmodromes, launch complexes, ground control facilities, medical support, cosmonaut training facilities, an orbital complex. In fact, within one sketch design of the ROS space complex, more than 100 separate sketch designs for component parts were developed.
In accordance with the regulatory documentation, the draft design is being examined by authorized research organizations - JSC "TsNIIMash", JSC "Technomash", SIC RCP, JSC "RKS", etc. We have received conclusions from each organization, agreed on plans to eliminate comments and are in the process of completing the correction of documentation. There are no negative conclusions.
The approval process is long and laborious, but this work is completed. We expect that by the beginning of November, the work on the correction of the draft design will be completed, after which the EP is already submitted to the Roscosmos State Corporation with worked-out comments for final adoption.
— Will the next stage be technical design?
— No, we expect that the next stage will be a working design. The depth of study, in our opinion, allows us to do this.
— Do you need a government decree to move on to working design? Or will it be an initiative development?
— This definitely cannot be an initiative development, the creation of such an object is a state task. The financing should be a separate line of the federal budget within the framework of a special federal project.
— Has the federal draft already been prepared?
— The federal project has been developed, sent to the federal executive authorities and is in the final stage of approval.
As I have already said, it is necessary to make a decision at the highest state level, include the line in the budget and start work from 2024.
— Will the decision be made by the president or the government?
— The decision of the president, the government is preparing a draft budget, the State Duma approves. All state authorities should make this decision.
— What kind of work is being carried out on the scientific and energy module (NEM)?
— The issue of financing for the NEM has now been resolved, all the necessary contracting of the NEM has been carried out, the work of the subcontractors has been launched. Next year, work in hardware on the module itself should begin.
— Will you have time by 2027?
— If there is a contract in 2024, we will have time.
— Earlier, Stroganovka students presented the design of the ROS, will it be used, will it be finalized?
— Together with the students, we perceived this work as a youth view from the outside. This is a good job, the designers of RSC Energia took the results as an idea, of course, everything useful will be used. On August 22, the Shchusev Museum hosted a presentation of theses by students of the Stroganov School, whom colleagues attracted to the design of the Russian Orbital Station.
— Do we need a module for the ROS that will be similar to the Dome module on the ISS?
— At the Army-2023 forum, we presented a mock-up of one of the target modules. In the module, one part is the same (service board for management), and the second part is the target, which can be any for a specific customer. It can be a slipway, a laboratory, a workshop, and the very "Dome". This option is possible, there is a question for the customer — state or commercial, or maybe it's some kind of foreign partner at all. Such a module can be made, it is technically feasible.
— Earlier, an offer was made to African and BRICS countries to participate in the creation of the ROS. If foreign partners join the project, will you participate in the creation of such modules?
— We can make a module for the customer. These can be BRICS countries, African countries, commercial customers, and we make a turnkey module, bring it into orbit, and dock it. The second option is that we can take a ready—made module that someone developed and integrate it into the station. There are some combined options when the module is created by partners, but something is being done for it at RSC Energia, for example, rendezvous and docking systems. We are open.
We have our own understanding of the conditional commercial module, which we are ready to offer to potential consumers, and then — any necessary improvements. We are ready to act in any capacity.
— Earlier, the general director of the Khrunichev Center told TASS that materials were sent to RSC Energia on the adaptation of Angara for the removal of modules of the Russian Orbital Station. Tell me, have these documents been reviewed?
— Of course, they are considered, because it is part of the draft project. According to our terms of reference, as part of the development of the preliminary design, the Khrunichev Center carried out work on the creation of space rockets to ensure the removal of ROS modules, that is, these are four different construction options — for a scientific and energy module, a base module, a target module and for a cargo ship designed for the removal of small modules. They carried out such work and presented the necessary materials. The results showed that the output of modules is provided.
— Will it be necessary to create a new Mission Control Center (MCC) or will it be possible to set up communication with the existing one?
— This is also part of the draft project. At this stage, various options were considered, including the creation of a MCC in RSC Energia, but it has now been decided that it will still be the MCC of JSC TsNIIMash, but in a new capacity, that is, a new Flight Control Center should be created, more compact, cheaper, more convenient, and new ground control stations, which are simply not there now, because the orbit is high. That is, we need stations in Tiksi, Norilsk, Kamchatka.
— How many such stations will be required in total?
—About six. These are new stations in the northern regions to cover the territory of Russia.
— Given that the ROS will be in polar orbit, will the requirements for astronauts who will fly there change?
— I can say that there will be nothing very new, because the activities of astronauts will not change because of the orbit, that is, they should still be able to work with equipment, go into space, shoot, maintain, repair, exercise. Naturally, the station will be more computerized and will receive digital control. There will be a difference in this regard, but it is not fundamental.
CPC (Cosmonaut Training Center — approx. TASS) also participated in the preparation of a draft project from the point of view of creating a training base: they showed how they see the training of astronauts. We have had discussions, they will continue in terms of optimizing the proposed solutions, but so far everything is quite constructive. While the CPC cosmonauts are not being recruited under the ROS, they are likely to have changes in training related to the PTK (manned transport ship — approx. TASS), as I understand it, in 2024-2025 they are going to recruit people specifically for PTK pilots. Now they are engaged in the creation of simulators.
— Is there any development of household appliances for ROS? For example, there is a coffee machine on the American segment of the ISS.
— After all, the station is not a five-star hotel. We will strive as much as possible to use the purchased ready-made equipment in terms of living conditions. A vacuum cleaner, relatively speaking, can be found ready with the necessary adaptation. The idea of a washing machine, which IMBP proposed, is quite controversial, we will think about this topic, everything will depend, including on the timing. The crew should have comfort, so there should be microwaves, all the necessary equipment, and the astronauts will probably still drink latte coffee on Earth.
— How many cosmonauts can ROS accommodate as much as possible?
— The life support system provides up to six people, and then everything depends on the tasks.
— Have the Soyuz and Progress ships already been finalized so that they can be sent to Russia?
— Soyuz ships are not planned for use in the Russian Federation. Soyuz MS continues to exist as a means of transport support for the ISS.
The transport support of the ROS will be provided by the PTK ship from the Vostochny cosmodrome and the upgraded Progress-ROS ship from the Baikonur cosmodrome, followed by the transition to the Vostochny.
— Has Progress been finalized yet?
— The design stage has been completed so far. As part of the draft project, books were released on the modernization of the Progress ship, what needs to be done with this ship so that it can fly on the ROS, all the necessary improvements are indicated, calculated and shown.
Its creation should begin in 2024 as a separate part of the ROS project, so that immediately after the launch of the NEM, Progress will be launched on ROS, in the first half of 2028.
— How long after the launch of the first module will the presence of astronauts be required?
— In accordance with the draft design, the plan is as follows: the NEM module is being output, in six months a cargo ship carrying small modules, the so—called TGC-MM, is flying to it, which carries with it a gateway and node module. Immediately after the removal of the gateway and node modules, a manned flight is planned. The PTK should fly to the ROS, the crews will be engaged in the re-docking of the gateway module, unloading, installation of additional equipment.
— Will the PTK fly with the crew right away? There will be no unmanned launch?
— The first launch, of course, is unmanned, but already with docking, the second is manned.
— It turns out that by this point the PTK should already be ready?
- yes. The preparation of the PTK should go in parallel. Like the NEM, the PTK should be ready for launch in 2027.
— Will there be all-weather surveillance equipment on the ROS?
— We say everywhere that the ROS is a means, that is, it is not a flag in orbit, it is an object, an orbital laboratory, which immediately brings real benefits. One of the directions is the observation center. Since we have a unique energy opportunity here, we have a crew that can install something, we propose here to have both a locator and surveillance equipment in the visible range and in the IR range.
One of the directions is radar. At the stage of the preliminary design, we looked at the possibility of the Russian industry in sufficient detail, who offers what for space. There are interesting suggestions. Radar requires, among other things, high energy capacities, and ROS is the very object that can provide high capacities for various tasks of the national economy.
— Now there is a SHSS for communication with the ISS (broadband communication system — approx. TASS), the American connection is also used. How will the connection to the ROS be replaced by imports?
— Good question. We provide two communication channels: one channel is through ground stations (this is an analogue of the RSPI system (radio technical information transmission system — approx. TASS), which is on the Russian segment), and the second — SHSS via Luch communication satellites. They are also provided here. We have this connection in orbit almost 24 hours a day.
— Will the existing satellites be enough or will more be needed?
— There are enough existing "Beams", but more will be needed to reserve and replenish those that are being decommissioned. In general, the issue of creating high-speed inter-satellite communication lines and communication with ground stations is extremely relevant, many people are trying to do this now, in addition to manned programs, including the creation of special new relay satellites. We are also ready to participate in this work by providing ROS funds as a platform for testing technologies and experiments in this area.