NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Energia

The Energia (or Energiya, Энергия in Russian, meaning Energy) rocket was a Soviet rocket that was designed by NPO Energia to serve as a heavy-lift expendable launch system as well as a booster for the Buran Space Shuttle. It had the capacity to place around 100 metric tons in Low Earth orbit (LEO), although it could have been (but never was) upgraded for heavier payloads comparable to (or even greater than) the LEO capacity of the Saturn V. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1372x1898, 303 KB) Summary The fictional Soviet space shuttle Baikal lifting off atop the immense Energia booster; from Baikal web page at Buran/Molniya corporate website. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1372x1898, 303 KB) Summary The fictional Soviet space shuttle Baikal lifting off atop the immense Energia booster; from Baikal web page at Buran/Molniya corporate website. ... A Soyuz rocket, at Baikanur launch pad. ... Soviet redirects here. ... S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (also known as RKK Energiya) is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. ... An expendable launch system or expendable launch vehicle, ELV, is a single-use launch vehicle usually used to launch a payload into space. ... The Shuttle Buran, serial number 11F35 K1, was the only space shuttle to come out of the Shuttle Buran program that was completed. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit in which objects such as satellites are below intermediate circular orbit (ICO) and far below geostationary orbit, but typically around 350 - 1400 km above the Earths surface. ... For the moon designated Saturn V, see Rhea. ...

History

Development

Work on the Energia/Buran system began in 1976 after the decision was made to cancel the unsuccessful N1 rocket. The cancelled N1 rocket-based Manned Lunar Launch Facilities and Infrastructure were used for Energia (notably the huge horizontal assembly building) - just as NASA reused infrastructure designed for the Saturn V in the Space Shuttle program. Energia also replaced the "Vulkan" concept, which was a design based on the Proton rocket and using the same toxic hypergolic fuels, but much larger and more powerful. The "Vulkan" designation was later on given to a variation of the Energia which has eight boosters and multiple stages. Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the 1976 Gregorian calendar. ... Two N1 Moon rockets appear on the pads at Baikonur Cosmodrome in early July 1969. ... The Proton (ÐŸÑ€Ð¾Ñ‚Ð¾ÌÐ½) rocket (formal designation: UR-500, also known as D-1/ D-1e or SL-12/SL-13) is a Russian unmanned space vehicle design, first launched in 1965. ... Hypergolic rocket fuels spontaneously ignite when their two components come into contact with each other. ...

First launch

The Energia was first test-launched 15 May 1987 21:30 with Polyus (UKSS military payload), where the Energia itself functioned well, but the Polyus did not reach orbit due to a mishap of its own attitude control system after separation from Energia. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 214 Ã— 598 pixelsFull resolution (1263 Ã— 3530 pixel, file size: 118 KB, MIME type: image/png) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 214 Ã— 598 pixelsFull resolution (1263 Ã— 3530 pixel, file size: 118 KB, MIME type: image/png) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Polyus cutaway The Polyus spacecraft, also known as Polus, Skif-DM, or 17F19DM, was a prototype orbital weapons platform designed to defend against anti-satellite weapons with recoilless cannon. ...

Second launch

The only other flight to orbit has been the successful mission in which the unmanned Shuttle Buran was brought to orbit, in 1988. Both the Energia and Buran programs were designed to maintain strategic parity between the two superpowers. The Shuttle Buran, serial number 11F35 K1, was the only space shuttle to come out of the Shuttle Buran program that was completed. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ...

Discontinuation

Production of Energia rockets ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Buran shuttle project. Ever since, there have been persistent rumors of the renewal of production, but given the current political realities, that is highly unlikely. While the Energia is no longer in production, the Zenit boosters are still in production and in use.

Variants

Three major variants were planned after the original configuration, each with vastly different payloads.

Energia M

The Energia M was the smallest design configuration. The number of Zenit boosters was reduced from four to two, and instead of four RD-0120 engines in the core, it had only one. It was designed to replace the Proton rocket, but lost the 1993 competition to the Angara rocket. The Zenit rocket (Ukrainian: Ð—ÐµÐ½Ñ–Ñ‚, Russian: Ð—ÐµÐ½Ð¸ÌÑ‚; meaning Zenith) is a space launch vehicle manufactured by the Yuzhnoe Design Bureau of Ukraine. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The Angara rocket is a planned space-launch vehicle, designed to place heavy payloads into orbit. ...

Energia II ("Uragan")

Main article: Energia II Energia II (Uragan) rocket was planned to be completely reusable and would be able to land on a conventional airfield. ...

Vulkan-Hercules

The final unflown configuration was also the largest. With eight Zenit booster rockets and an Energia-M core as the upper stage of it, the "Vulkan" (which was interestingly the same name of another Soviet heavy lift rocket that was cancelled years earlier) or "Hercules" (which is the same name designated to the N-1 rockets) configuration could have launched a stunning 175 tonnes into orbit.

Comparisons between Energia and Saturn V

There is much debate in the space enthusiast community about which was the better or more powerful booster, the Energia or the Saturn V. In its most powerful configuration, the Energia was equipped with eight Zenit strap-on boosters and a high energy H2 upper stage; this configuration exceeded the LEO payload capability (175 metric tons vs. 120 metric tons) of the Saturn V, although it never flew. In the configuration it did fly in (four Zenit strap-ons, single core) the Energia LEO payload was only 80 metric tons, though this is still far and away the only vehicle comparable to the Saturn V to have successfully launched. Both vehicles had a reliability of 100%, though the Energia only flew twice.

The Energia and Saturn V vehicles are easily the most powerful and reliable large boosters that ever successfully flew. In all categories: takeoff thrust, launch mass, payload mass, etc. the Saturn V and the Energia are at the top of the list in some order, and every other launch system (with the possible exception of the STS) being a distant third. It is interesting to note that both vehicles were developed using tremendous resources and effort to make them as good as they were, only to be abandoned shortly after the considerable capital investment made in them. This makes the Energia and Saturn V co-title holders in a more ignominious category: The most expensive and impressive vehicles to have been abandoned so rapidly after proving they worked so well. Had either launch system been maintained in production and had the space agencies enough resources to build and operate these launchers, the current state of human affairs in space could be considerably different. For instance, the time to lift the International Space Station could have been shortened by a decade and accomplished in just two or three launches. Arguably, the main reason for abandoning such heavy lifters is the lack of tasks which they should solve, as humanity still doesn't visit the Moon often, and new space stations are rarely created. For the current Space Shuttle mission, see STS-117 NASAs Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States governments current manned launch vehicle. ... International Space Station insignia ISS Statistics Crew: 3 As of June 20, 2007 Perigee: 319. ...

External links

v • d • e

Soviet and Russian expendable launch vehicles

Active:	Cosmos-3M · Dnepr · Molniya · Proton · Rockot · Shtil' · Soyuz (U, 2) · START-1 · Strela · Tsyklon · Volna · Zenit
In development:	Angara · Onega
Past:	Energia · N1 · Polyot · R-7 Semyorka · Voskhod · Vostok