Vladimir Putin has approved the start of work on the creation of extra-heavy space rockets for interplanetary missions – Bulletin

The whole project is estimated at more than 400 billion rubles., But it is not known whether the found money

Photo: Sergey Porter / Vedomosti

Vladimir Putin gave preliminary approval to start working on a super-heavy space launch vehicle, said yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, following a meeting on the construction of a new cosmodrome East in the Amur region. « Today, for the first time at the level of the president sounded plans Russian Space Agency on the initiation of the superheavy rocket “?? Rogozin said ( quoted by « Interfax “) ?? so far on this topic have been only preliminary conversations. According to Rogozin, it is about creating an entirely new missile carrying capacity of 120-150 tons, to be established after the family will be made rockets « Angara “, including the « heavy “version « Angara A5».

According to the draft of the Federal Space Program for 2016-2025. the creation of super-heavy rocket will need to allocate the budget of 200 billion rubles., for the construction of the launch complex at Baikonur East will need another 151 600 000 000, and the creation of oxygen-hydrogen booster ( last stage) cost an additional 60.5 billion rubles. with the start of testing in 2023 Thus, in general, a project to create a new missile is estimated at 410 billion rubles. For comparison, the cost of creating a rocket « Angara» ( work on it stretches from the mid 90s., and stepped up to the mid-2000s), together with the construction of the launch complex has now reached about 200 billion rubles., but this figure will be exceeded, says former official of the Russian Space Agency.

super-heavy launch around the same characteristics and created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration United States: according to the developers, it is necessary for a manned mission to Mars. In Russia, the need for such a missile said the former president of Rocket and Space Corporation « Energy” Vitaly Lopota, and in the spring in an interview « Vedomosti” this idea was supported by the head of Roscosmos Oleg Ostapenko.

As the source explained « Sheets “in the space industry, such an ambitious project is estimated industry leaders as necessary to maintain its prestige and download developer of space technology for decades to come, as it actually happened and « Angara.” According to the source, such a missile is only needed for the implementation of flight plans to the moon, to the Lagrange points in the Earth ( are objects at these points revolve around the sun in sync with the Earth) and then to asteroids and Mars, but until such real Russia has no plans to the same due to the ultra-high cost of such projects, it is desirable to develop them in the international cooperation. According to the interlocutor « Sheets”, due to the problems with the budget it is unlikely that in the next few years will begin full-scale work on a rocket: likely will initially funded research project worth tens or hundreds of millions of rubles.