The Progress Rocket and Space Center (RCC) (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) celebrates its 130th anniversary on October 24. Dmitry Baranov, the CEO of the legendary enterprise, told about the historical path of the legendary enterprise, its current activities and plans for the near future in an interview with TASS.
— The Progress Rocket and Space Center turns 130 years old this year. Can you take a little historical tour?
— A huge enterprise, which today everyone knows as the Progress Rocket and Space Center, 130 years ago was a bicycle factory called Dux. But already at the beginning of the XX century, a small organization began to manufacture various equipment — cars, motorized sleds, airships — and began to supply airplanes to the Russian army. By 1917, Dux had become one of the largest aircraft manufacturing centers in tsarist Russia. The famous Nieuport, Moran, Farman, and Sopwith aircraft were manufactured here. On one of these aircraft, pilot Peter Nesterov performed the "dead loop" aerobatics for the first time. During the Soviet years, the State Aviation Plant No. 1 (as the enterprise became known) mastered the production of numerous experimental and serial samples of aviation equipment: reconnaissance aircraft R-1, R-5; fighters I-1, I-3, I-5, I-15, I-153, MiG-3. These aircraft have many world records in speed and altitude, gold medals from international aviation competitions, as well as participation in combat operations.
In 1941, the plant was evacuated from Moscow to Kuibyshev (now Samara), and here the plant's staff performed a labor feat.
In total, in 1941-1945, employees assembled and sent to the front more than 3 thousand MiG-3 fighters, 11,768 Il-2 attack aircraft and 1,225 Il-10 attack aircraft.
In the post-war years, the aircraft factory mastered the production of jet fighters and jet bombers.
In 1958, it was decided to organize serial production of the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile at the State Aviation Plant No. 1, and on February 17, 1959, the first "seven", manufactured in Kuibyshev, launched from Baikonur. Our company has developed and manufactured many modifications of the famous "seven" — "Voskhod", "Lightning", "Soyuz-U", "Soyuz-FG", etc. Today, Soyuz-2 remains the most reliable and economical means of delivering manned and cargo spacecraft into space, as well as most domestic spacecraft. This year we plan to launch a two-thousandth rocket based on the R-7.
Our company is directly involved in the manned program. The first two stages of the Vostok rocket were assembled at Progress, which put the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into low-Earth orbit. Currently, missiles manufactured at the enterprise are the only domestic means of launching manned transport ships.
In 1959, for the design support of missile production in Kuibyshev, branch No. 3 OKB-1 was organized, which later became the famous TSSKB, headed by the legendary designer D.I. Kozlov. In 1996, TSSKB and the Progress Plant (former GAZ No. 1) were merged into one enterprise — GNPRCC TSSKB-Progress, and in 2014 the enterprise was transformed into JSC Progress Rocket and Space Center.
Another area of our work is the creation of spacecraft. Since the 1960s, the company has been developing and manufacturing satellites for various purposes. One of the priority areas is the creation of spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth.
On April 28, 2016, the specialists of the RCC Progress and related enterprises opened a new page in the history of Russian cosmonautics — they carried out the first mission from the new Russian Vostochny cosmodrome. And today our "Unions" will launch from three cosmodromes — Baikonur, Plesetsk, Vostochny.
— As the head of the Progress RCC, do you have a favorite chapter in the history of the company? Except perhaps for the present.
— All stages of our 130-year history are important — when the company manufactured bicycles, and the aviation stage, and the evacuation and establishment of the plant at a new site, and the start of production of rockets, and then satellites. We have always created advanced technology for our time.
One of the most striking episodes in the history of our company is participation in the grandiose Soviet space project to create the Energia—Buran space system. This event was a victory for the teams of more than 1,200 enterprises of the Soviet Union. Here, in Kuibyshev, the Progress plant manufactured the central block of the II stage (block "C") and the launch and docking block "Ya". At the Baikonur cosmodrome, employees of the Progress branch carried out the general assembly of the Energia rocket and performed the docking of the rocket with the Buran orbiter. Then, as part of the project, the Progress plant carried out a technical re-equipment of production, introduced unique technological processes and mechanisms. The successful launch of the Energia-Buran complex in 1988 is a scientific and technical breakthrough of the country, which showed the world the potential of the domestic rocket and space industry. Despite the fact that the project was closed, the results of the Energia-Buran project were used in the development of various samples of rocket and space technology.
— One of the main products of the Progress RCC is the legendary Soyuz-2. How many missiles per year can the company produce today?
— In Soviet times, the Progress plant could produce up to 60 Soyuz launch vehicles per year. Currently, the need for a PH of this type has decreased several times due to an increase in the active life of spacecraft in orbit from several days to several years.
— Is work underway to modernize individual systems?
— Work on optimization of technological processes and modernization of on-board systems is ongoing.
— Alexander Lopatin, Deputy Head of Roscosmos for Launch Facilities, Operation of ground-based Space Infrastructure and Quality and Reliability Assurance, said last year that all control and verification measures before Soyuz-2 launches from Vostochny are now automated. Did this require additional modernization of the media themselves?
— The Soyuz-2 launch vehicle, which is launched from Vostochny, was designed taking into account the experience of operating launch vehicles at the Baikonur, Plesetsk and Guiana Space Center cosmodromes. The process of preparing the launch vehicle at the cosmodrome is provided by ground-based systems, they check and prepare the onboard systems of the rocket. At the final stage, the PH is checked both the pre-launch flight cycle and the flight itself.
At the Vostochny cosmodrome, a new automated control system is used in preparation for the launch and during the launch of the Soyuz-2 launch vehicle. It allows you to process and store information about the state of the rocket, promptly provide it to specialists in a visual form, and helps speed up decision-making in case of emergency situations. The use of modern high-speed ground-based systems made it possible to use highly informative telemetry systems on board. These systems allow you to monitor the condition of the rocket with greater accuracy.
— How is the technical design of the Amur-LNG reusable carrier going? When is the technical project planned to be completed?
— The technical design of the space rocket complex with the Amur launch vehicle is proceeding in accordance with the project schedule. The first stage of work was related to the study of the possibility of using the Amur launch vehicle to launch spacecraft in the interests of promising manned programs. This stage has been completed and delivered to the customer in 2023. At the second stage, the possibility of using the Amur launch vehicle in the interests of other customers was being worked out. Now this stage is in the final stage — the materials have been evaluated at the enterprise and submitted for consideration to the general customer (Roscosmos State Corporation). The third stage is the main one. At this stage, the technical design as a whole is completed. According to the terms of the government contract, this stage is planned to be closed in the second quarter of 2025.
— Has the development work started? If not, when does the company expect to start them?
— The start of development work is possible only after the protection of the technical design and the approval of fundamental technical solutions by the general customer. So far, the issue of setting deadlines for the full deployment of development work on the creation of the Amur-LNG space rocket complex at the Vostochny cosmodrome remains open.
— Recently, the first deputy head of Roscosmos, Andrei Yelchaninov, said that the landing tests of the first stage are planned to be carried out first with a demonstrator stage. Are we talking about a "hopper" — a device for testing the launch and return of a rocket?
— Yes, we are talking about a kind of "hopper", which will be an experimental sample of the first stage of a reusable PH. Currently, a search is underway for sites suitable for conducting full-fledged tests.
— Do you agree with the statement that it is with the help of reusable rockets that space exploration can be made cheaper? How will Amur LNG manifest itself in this regard?
— Indeed, it is possible to reduce the cost of space exploration with the help of reusable launch vehicles.
— How expensive will one launch be? How will the cost of putting 1 kg of payload into orbit change after the launch vehicle is put into regular operation?
— Unfortunately, there is no answer to this question yet. The main difficulty in calculating the expected cost indicators is the absence of the very mechanism for forming the price of reusable PH. In addition, according to the terms of the state contract, the task is additionally set to work out various industrial production models. All these works are carried out jointly with the main institute of the industry — JSC "Organization "Agat".
— At the Army forum, the head of NPO Energomash told TASS that the company is almost ready for serial production of the RD-171MV tsar engine, designed for the first stage of Soyuz-5. How are the work on the media itself going now?
— JSC NPO Energomash has manufactured and is in responsible storage RD-171MV engines for the second and third Soyuz-5 launch vehicles intended for flight design tests. The decision on the preparation of serial production of both the components and the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle as a whole can be made by the state customer only based on the results of successful flight design tests of the launch vehicle at the Baikonur cosmodrome.
Currently, the production of prototypes of the Soyuz-5 rocket launcher is in full swing, while ground-based experimental testing of the components of the product continues to confirm the strength of the standard design of the PH blocks.
— When does the company plan to produce the first flight sample? When should the first launch be expected?
— The first prototype of the Soyuz-5 rocket launcher is in production. Today, all the shells of the tanks of the first and second stages have been manufactured. The RD-171MV first stage engine has already been delivered to the Progress RCC and the RD-0124MS second stage engine is expected to be delivered by the end of this year. At the same time, the PH units are being equipped with control system equipment, emergency engine protection systems, and information and telemetry systems. By mid-2025, we need to ensure that the launch vehicle is ready for factory testing.
In accordance with current international agreements, the first launch of the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle is scheduled for the end of 2025.
— In April, you said that the company had returned to work on the project of a superheavy carrier for flights to the Moon and Mars. What kind of work is underway now? What are the deadlines for the implementation of the project today?
— The technical solutions and manufacturing technologies used to create the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle, as well as the principles laid down in the design of the reusable Amur launch vehicle, should become the basis for the creation of a superheavy-class space rocket complex.
Now, first of all, it is necessary for the state customer to approve a technical specification containing requirements for the entire range of work — from the technical design to flight tests.
— In addition to proven and promising launch vehicles, Progress RCC is also working on spacecraft. One of them is the biological satellite "Bion—M" No. 2, which was planned to be launched this year. What is the estimated launch date at the moment?
— The launch date of the Bion-M spacecraft No. 2 is 2025.
— In April, the first spacecraft launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome, Aist—2D, descended from orbit. Tell us, what was the mission of the device? What valuable data did he transmit to Earth during his eight years of work?
— The Aist-2D demonstration small spacecraft (MCA) for remote sensing of the Earth was developed by JSC RCC Progress to test new technologies for creating small spacecraft. The ICA "Aist-2D" has fully fulfilled the tasks assigned to it.
During the work of the Aist-2D ICA, it has filmed more than 93 million square kilometers of the earth's surface. The images obtained from Stork-2D were provided free of charge to various departments. The data obtained were used by the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia to provide information support for decision-making aimed at preventing and eliminating the consequences of emergency situations, reducing the risk of loss of life and major material damage.
Information from Stork-2D was also used in educational projects related to the training of specialists in the field of image processing and geoinformation technologies. For example, in the program "On Duty on Planet 2", participants in the space shifts of the Sirius educational center planned surveys and processed remote sensing data received directly from the Stork—2D.
In addition, experiments were conducted during the operation of the ICA and a large amount of information was obtained from scientific equipment installed on the satellite. Scientists have received a large amount of information about the influence of space factors on materials and structural elements of a small spacecraft.
— This year, Resurs-P No. 4 was launched, which became the thousandth spacecraft launched into orbit for the Progress RCC. What other devices are planned to be launched before the end of the year? Can you tell us about them?
— In 2024, it is planned to launch a highly detailed optoelectronic spacecraft Resurs-P No. 5, similar to Resurs-P spacecraft No. 4, which was launched on March 31 this year.
— When is the launch of the Obzor-R satellite planned?
— In April of this year, the company received the long-awaited onboard equipment of a highly detailed radar complex for the Obzor-R spacecraft, and it is currently being tested as part of the spacecraft. It is planned to prepare and send the Obzor-R spacecraft No. 1 to the cosmodrome in December this year, while the launch of the spacecraft may be carried out in the first quarter of 2025.
In addition, since 2023, the company has been working on the creation of the Obzor-R spacecraft No. 2. The technical design stage is currently underway, which is scheduled to be completed in May 2025. The launch of the Obzor-R spacecraft No. 2 under a government contract is planned in 2029.
— And when will the Resource-PM ultra-high-precision spacecraft be put into orbit?
— RCC Progress, together with the cooperation, is working on the creation of a space system with the Resurs-PM spacecraft No. 1 and No. 2 in accordance with the state contract concluded with the Roscosmos State Corporation.
The completion of the component base of the onboard equipment, which is being developed for the Resurs-PM spacecraft, is now being completed. Development and standard sets of on-board equipment and spacecraft components are also manufactured. Work is underway with the state customer to ensure the launch of Resurs-PM spacecraft No. 1 in 2026.
— At the moment, the company is approaching another important milestone — the launch of a two-thousandth launch vehicle of its own production. When do you expect to launch? Will you make it before the end of the year? What is planned to be launched?
— We plan to launch a two-thousandth rocket of the R-7 type by the end of this year. Today, before this anniversary, we have 6 more launches (as of October 24, 2024, 1,994 R-7 rocket launches were carried out). It all depends on the readiness to launch payloads — both the production of the Progress RCC and other enterprises.
— How will the company mark such a significant milestone?
— Now the action plan is being made up. The launch site from which the anniversary launch will take place has not yet been determined, but by the end of this year we will definitely launch a two-thousandth rocket of the R-7 type.
Ilya Vrubel
