Soyuz-7 (rocket family)

The Soyuz-7 (Russian: Союз-7) is a proposed family of new Russian rockets proposed by JSC SRC Progress in the mid-2010s, to replace the legacy Soyuz for launch after the early 2020s. JSC SRC Progress had been the manufacturer and custodian of the Soyuz family design for many decades.^[2] The new design concept was a part of Project Feniks (Russian: Феникс, lit. 'Fenix').^{[not verified in body]} While all previous iterations of the Soyuz family had their roots firmly set on the R-7 ICBM legacy, the new rocket, designated Soyuz-7 in 2013, was to be a completely new design from the ground up. The proposed new design was to be based on a new propellant: LOX and liquid methane, use a new tank structure, new propulsion, and would do away with the famous R-7 tulip^{[clarification needed]}, and have thrust vector control in the main engine rather than using vernier engines.^[2] It was conceived in 2013 to be a scalable family with three versions covering the medium to heavy payload ranges.^[2]

The project is considered^[by whom?] as fundamental to assure access to space for Russia, since it^[who?] is transitioning exclusively to the Angara family, and the Soyuz-7 would add redundancy in case of an Angara stand down.^[4]

As conceived in the mid-2010s, the smallest version was to be a 270-tonne rocket, intended as a replacement of the Soyuz-2 rocket, with an expected payload to LEO of 9 t (9,000 kg). It will use a single RD-0164 engine on the first stage, and a RD-0169 engine on the second.^[7] The first engineering design was expected to be completed by 2016,^{[needs update]} and the first flight expected as early as 2022.^{[citation needed]} The use of just two stages for the base version, and the simplification of subsystems was intended to product a more reliable and less-expensive launch vehicle, with the lightest version expected to be cheaper than the Soyuz-2.^[8]

History

During an interview with the Kazakhstani magazine Space Research and Technologies during 2013, Mr. Kirilin, CEO of TSKB Progress, explained the conception of the project.^[8] When the Rus-M project was cancelled, TSKB Progress started work on a methane fueled launch vehicle under the Roscosmos Magistral research program.^[8] This work was self funded by the company, and looked to replace the Soyuz vehicle and keep the vehicle design capabilities within the company.^{[citation needed]}

The venerable Soyuz rocket vehicle would be an approximately 60-year-old design by 2020 and it could not remain competitive with the new vehicles,^{[according to whom?]} like the Falcon 9. It was described by Progress CEO, Mr. Kirilin, as technologically and operationally hopelessly outdated.^[8] It has conical sections, where each panel is unique, it uses six engines with 24 nozzles, most rocket manufacturing tasks include a number of manual operations, it even requires five different fluids: kerosene, liquid oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, gaseous nitrogen and gaseous helium. Looking forward, the price of RG-1 fuel was going up, since it could only be distilled from a single oil field, that, by 2015, was expected to be depleted soon.^[8]

The proposed Soyuz-7 would use the same diameter for all sections of the rocket, 3.6 m (12 ft), use liquid methane and liquid oxygen, have a single engine with a single nozzle on each stage, and automate^{[clarification needed]} most tasks.^[8] The proposed new rocket was conceived to used the existing Soyuz pads and installations after some modifications. Liquid methane is cheap, Russia has ample reserves and it has a huge installed base. It also has some important thermal and polymerizing properties that paves the way for reusable rockets. The rocket was expected to use the KBKhA RD-0164^{[clarification needed]} engine in the core^{[clarification needed]} stages, and a methane version of the KBKhA RD-0124^{[clarification needed]} in the upper stage.^[8]

During an August, 2015 interview with Ria Novosti, Mr. Kirilin stated that a preliminary design was expected in 2015 or 2016,^{[needs update]} that they intended to first develop a light version^{[clarification needed]}, that they anticipated an initial test flight of the first prototype in 2022 and that the propulsion would be the RD-0164 for the cores^{[clarification needed]} and the RD-0169^{[clarification needed]} rocket engine for the upper stage.^[4]

Versions

In the mid-2010s, Soyuz-7 was conceived to be a scalable family, with three conceptual versions:

• Basic version, designed to replace the Soyuz-2.1a/b rockets, would use use just a first and a second stage. It was conceived to have a payload to a 200 km (120 mi) circular LEO orbit of 9 t (8.9 long tons; 9.9 short tons).^[9][2]
• A three-core-stage version, designed as a crew carrier vehicle, that would use a central core and two equal cores on the side as boosters. This design concept was to have not an air-ignited second stage to eliminate air start risk. It was expected to have a payload to LEO of 16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons).^[9][2]
• The heaviest version with maximum capability.^[10] It was expected to achieve a payload to LEO of 25 t (25 long tons; 28 short tons).^[9][2]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soyuz (rocket).

• Soyuz programme
• Soyuz rocket family
• Soyuz-5 rocket family
• Angara – Russian family of RP-1/LOX fueled space-launch vehicles

References

External links

• Anatoly Zak's page on the Soyuz-7

This page was last edited on 8 April 2021, at 09:53