Kliper
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Kliper (Клипер, also referred to as Clipper) is Russia's proposed next generation manned spacecraft. Kliper has been associated with RKK Energia's design proposal in the media, however two other companies, Khrunichev and Molniya, have submitted proposals.
Designed primarily to replace the Soyuz spacecraft, it is a partly reusable spaceplane that should be able to glide into the atmosphere at an angle that produces much less acceleration on the human occupants than the current Soyuz.
Energia's Kliper proposal is currently proposed in two versions: as a pure lifting body design and as a spaceplane with small wings. This craft may carry up to six people and may be able to perform ferry services between earth and the International Space Station. It has also been declared that it will be used as the crew vehicle for trans-lunar missions and may at least theoretically be used on Mars exploration.
The primary focus for its development was to reduce costs for manned space flights by using the reusable spaceship approach, decrease g-forces in order to shorten the preparation time of space tourists and to replace the aging Soyuz capsule design.
Contents |
Development
Announcement of the program
Image:Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft.jpg In February 2004 FSA deputy director Nikolai Moiseyev told journalists that the Kliper project had been included in the Russian federal space program for 2005-15. At that point he announced that if the program is implemented successfully the first launch may even take place in five years time. Kliper had been developed since 2000 and reportedly relied heavily on research studies as well as proposals for a small Russian lifting body spacecraft from the 1990s. Externally its design is comparable to the cancelled European mini-shuttle Hermes or the NASA study X-38. It is planned to be the successor to the veteran spacecraft the Soyuz that has been built in various modifications since 1961.
Early search for support
In 2005 Kliper was displayed in several air shows around Europe and Asia, in order to reach out to international partners who would be interested to co-fund and co-develop the spacecraft. The Russian Space Agency especially looked to Europe as ESA has become its major partner in space activities during the last years. In May 2005 rumours started in the press that Europe would join the Kliper project in a specially funded venture that would be part of the Aurora Programme. These rumours turned out to be correct when both Russian and European space officials announced their cooperation to build Kliper during the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget on June 10 2005 [1][2].
Vladimir Taneev, the leading designer of the Kliper system speculated on the contribution of Europe to the project in the following way:
- The European companies will likely contribute avionics, materials, and cabin systems. Many different options are on the table, and in the near future we expect to form Russian-European working groups specialized in different subsystems and fields of design.
The Russian Space Agency as well as ESA announced that they would continue to look for other international partners such as Japan to invest in Kliper. A substantive cooperation with NASA was unlikely, due to the parallel development of America's own next generation manned launch vehicle, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
A further element of this process was made public on October 12 2005, when various press agencies revealed that JAXA, the Japanese space agency had been officially approached by Russia to participate in the project. JAXA has made it clear that they are more likely to join the project, if ESA does so first, which is in doubt after ESA members rejected a study for Europe's involvement in the Kliper project in December 2005. The addition of Japan would make Kliper a truly multinational project, potentially combining the rugged reliability of Russian launchers with Japanese computer technology. A greater pan-national consensus would allow for a lighter funding burden on each participant also.
Estimated costs
Announcements and speculations following the February 2004 press conference suggested a development budget of only 10 billion rubles (approximately US$350 million). However in looking at today's costs for human space travel it was clear that the 10 billion rubles figure was a rather low estimate. In May 2005 The Guardian reported that costs are estimated to be roughly $3 billion (for development and construction of Kliper until 2015) of which the bulk of 1.8 billion was speculated to come from Europe. Template:Ref Different sources in 2005 have reported that the money needed for the program would be 1.5 billion Euros ($1.8 billion) [3] and on December 12, 2005 an article stated it would be €1 billion (solely in relation to development costs). [4]
On July 14 2005 the Russian government approved the national space program for 2006 to 2015 with a budget of 305 billion rubles (ca. $11 billion - the whole budget for the 10-year period will be 425 billion rubles = ca. 15 billion dollars [5]). The budget includes the needed funding for the Kliper program [6]. Thus in face of Europe's denial to fund a €50m feasibility study for the Kliper project at the European space summit in December 2005, Russian space officials have announced that Russia would fund Kliper even without any European contribution. [7]
The most recent article on Kliper states that the project will incur 16 billion rubles (~$600 million) in development costs, 11 billion of that will be financed by the government and 5 billion by contractors. [8]
First launch and target for regular flights
In 2004 it was announced that it is likely that Kliper will make its first launch as early as 2010 or 2011 – the same time the Space Shuttle is scheduled to be retired. However, it was reported by BBC News on September 27 2005, that the first flight tests are not planned until 2011, with the first manned flights in 2012 and the Soyuz being phased out over time until 2014. An article on December 3, 2005 [9] cited the president of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation Nikolai Sevastyanov that "the first regular lift-off is scheduled for 2012, while a complete transport system will be in place by 2015."
ESA's part in Kliper - Uncertainty over European cooperation
On September 28 2005 the BBC reported that Alan Thirkettle, head of ESA's Human Spaceflight Development Department, has stated that Kliper would be used: For future exploration, when we have the objective of going to the Moon, it is important to have several possibilities to go there, and within this framework of cooperation to have our own access to orbit around the Moon. In the same context, Alain Fournier-Sicre, head of the ESA permanent mission in the Russian Federation also stated that: The objective is to have a vehicle which is more comfortable than the Soyuz capsule which will be used with pilots and four passengers...It's meant to service the space station and to go between Earth and an orbit around the Moon with six crew members.
Although there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for Kliper within Alan Thirkettle's team at ESA (as outlined in the above paragraph), on December 7, 2005, the European space summit of governmental officials of ESA member states declined to approve a 50 million euro two-year study focusing on ESA's potential involvement in the Kliper project. In denying funding for the study ESA members stated that, among other factors that seemed unfavourable, under the current Russian proposal Europe would not share control over the design of the program and would be limited to being a small industrial contributor.
Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's Director General, put the refusal to fund the study into context: It is not a question of member states for and member states against. I think the decision could not be taken for reasons that are not linked to Clipper itself. The decision could not be taken because of budgetary restraints. Dordain concluded that he was convinced that European support for Kliper was vital for ESA's future involvement in space transport and that a favourable decision can be achieved until June 2006. [10] In concluding We need two transportation systems in the world. [11] Dordain also outlined shortly after the European Space Summit had ended, the primary requirement of Europe's involvement in the Kliper project, namely to rely on two separate systems to support the ISS as it has proven vital after the Columbia Shuttle disaster in 2003.
Dordain's remarks were echoed by Daniel Sacotte, ESA's director of human spaceflight, microgravity and exploration, in saying simply that The Russians are not going to finance it, we will finance it from our side, despite adding a cautionary note that We needed the support from at least two states out of France, Italy and Germany. We didn't get it.. What this means in practical terms remains to be seen, however what is clear is that ESA officials are still pushing for Europe's involvement in the Kliper project.
Very negative comments relative to Kliper were brought by the various national delegations at the December meeting, in particular by the French Minister of Research François Goulard. In short, there remain for the time being member states strongly committed to Kliper, and others just as strongly opposed. The long terms view remains uncertain.
In 2006 Jean-Jacques Dordain explained that money allocated to space transportation development, that ESA currently funds in the amount of 300 million for the next 3 years, could be used for Europe's involvement in the project. Given the February 2006 statement that 5 billion rubles (~$200 million) of the development costs will come from "contractors", a limited involvement of ESA in Kliper might be forthcoming.
Project Selection
At the end of 2005, Roskosmos announced that at tender for Kliper will be held in January 2006 between RKK Energia, Krunichev and Molniya with a selection date of February 3, 2006. However concerns about the bids led to a delay in the process, with a resubmittal deadline of March, 2006 and a selection now scheduled for April, 2006.
Design
Given the Russian Space Agency's obvious preference for Energia's lifting body proposal this part of the article concentrates entirely on Energia's design for Kliper.
Overview
Its design is another attempt to solve the geometric problems of spacecraft. Soyuz had an Orbital Module, a hollow sphere, to be used for eating and hygiene, and an airlock located above the Reentry module (the capsule), with the docking mechanism at the top. In the event of an emergency, it would have to be lifted away from the rocket along with the reentry module, and the fairing over the spacecraft had to be designed to successfully split apart either circumferentially just below the reentry module in such an emergency or longitudinally if the flight should be successful. Kliper has the Orbital Module below its reentry module, and the docking mechanism below that. This is made possible by constructing the reentry module broader than the orbital module, so that a pair of rocket nozzles for orbital maneuvering can be fitted alongside it, as the later Salyut space stations had.
In connection with this new design, Kliper will feature a launch escape system that will enable it to detach from the launch rocket if an abort of the mission during orbital ascent is paramount. An abort will be possible during every phase of the launch with the limitation of the first seconds after takeoff. [12]
Lifting body design
On return from space, Kliper's lifting body design will not only allow a smoother descent into Earth's atmosphere, it will also allow some steering - in contrast to the Soyuz capsule design. RKK Energia claims the craft would be able to land in a predetermined one square kilometer area. Artist impressions show the Kliper will resemble a cylinder topped by a cone. Until recently likely landing proposals involved both a landing by parachute and as an alternative in a modified version a landing on a runway similar to an airplane like the Space Shuttle. However, leading designer Vladimir Daneev commented to this issue in June 2005:
- We are 99% sure that it will be a spaceship with upturned little wings, enabling the Kliper to land on any class-one military airfield with a runway from three to three and a half kilometers in length. [13]
Kliper, as a vehicle alone, will be primarily a manned spaceship, carrying six cosmonauts and payloads of up to 700 kilograms (mostly experiments and other equipment used for carrying through experiments in orbit) and is planned to stay in orbit for approximately 15 days independently and for up to 360 days if docked to the International Space Station. This highlights both the Russian/European, as well as the American change in space transportation philosophy. Rather than focusing on the lifting of cargo with a human element (current US space shuttle or Buran), the Russian space agency are adopting a 'people first' philosophy with the aim of 'bolting' extra capabilities for more advanced missions onto Kliper at a later date. The re-usability of the spaceship will be in the range of 25 starts until a Kliper orbiter will be retired.
Using a space tug
During autumn of 2005 Kliper's design was changed again. In order to fit the Kliper on the planned upgraded version of the Soyuz-2 rocket, labeled the Soyuz-2-3, Kliper would be 'split up' into two spacecrafts, the Kliper crew vehicle and Parom, a space tug. Parom would be a permanent orbital spacecraft awaiting Kliper in orbit, docking with it and then providing orbital manoeuvering and boosting Kliper to higher orbits in order to dock with the International Space Station. The Parom is planned to be infinitely reusable, refueling itself via the cargo container, spacestation, or shapecraft that it is attached to.[14] [15]
Latest Version of Energia's proposal
The version of Kliper presented during the bid in January 2006 now differs again from the original design. It shows the lifting body with larger wings, that, according to Energia officials, can be folded around the core crew module and unfold after atmospheric re-entry in order to provide cross-range and better landing accuracy for the spacecraft. The light Kliper version proposed is stripped down to 7 tons and uses the 'split-up'-option with Parom as a spacetug.
Missions
Kliper is the counterpart to the American Crew Exploration Vehicle and is designed (similar to the CEV) to be part of a modular system that enables it to be both a LEO-shuttle type vehicle as well as part of a spacecraft able to go beyond Earth orbit to the Moon and even Mars (there are outline suggestions of lunar applications as of September 2005). The modular design will include the Kliper crew module and - depending on the mission - a mission module or propulsion module. Although far fetched, this corresponds to announcements by the Russian Space Agency that according to a lunar mission study, using the Soyuz, a landing on the Moon could be achieved within the next decade [16].
Information on Kliper's beyond LEO mission capabilities have been expanded further by RSC Energia, with a picture released in December 2005 of what a possible Kliper interplanetary configuration might look like. The design is entirely theoretical at this point, but makes for a tantalising view of where RSC Energia sees the Kliper operating, and how it might do so. This configuration is unlike anything seen so far for a manned space vehicle, with the solar arrays needed for electrical power vastly bigger than the habitable volume at the centre. It is also unclear here what the mode of propulsion is. The very large solar array suggests an ion propulsion system might be contemplated for such a mission, though it might also simply be that there is another reason for such a large array, such as increased power for better telemetry transmission rates over large distances.
Launch vehicles
At present the Soyuz rocket will not be able to lift Kliper into lower earth orbit, because the spacecraft (the version designed without Parom) is expected to weigh between 13 and 14.5 metric tons (with payload and crew) whereas Soyuz only has a lifting capacity of around 8 metric tons. It was originally planned to heavily enhance the Soyuz rocket - a project that was labelled the Onega rocket or Soyuz-3. Until fall of 2005 it was much more likely that Kliper will use an Angara-A3 rocket, which is scheduled to make its first launch 2007-2008 or possibly a Zenit rocket that is built in Ukraine.
As of the end of 2005, Kliper's design had changed again (as outlined above) and the most likely solution for a launch vehicle became the Soyuz 2-3, an upgraded Soyuz 2 rocket. This enhanced Soyuz should be able to launch Kliper into space because of weight reduction resulting in the use of the Parom as a space tug. [17]
With regard to launch sites for Kliper, further information became available as of October 2005, with a planning-stage declaration from Nikolai Moiseev, Deputy Director of the Russian Space Agency that Kliper could be launched from ESA's Kourou space centre in French Guiana. Though this aim had already been previously suggested, the comment was made in the context of facility upgrades for Kourou that are already under way since 2003 and are expected to be finished in 2007 with the first launch of a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana in 2008. That Kliper could be launched from both Baikonur and Kourou has also been suggested by Alan Thirkettle, head of ESA's human spaceflight, microgravity and exploration directorate, as recently as December 2005 [18]. [19]
Footnotes
- Template:Note An article in the British Guardian in March 2005 stated that Europe's contribution would have amounted to 100 million British pounds for 10 years.
See also
- Crew Exploration Vehicle the American counterpart program
- European Space Agency
- Russian Space Agency
- Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle
External links
- Images and information at Russian Space Web
- Images and information at Astronautix
- Kliper section at www.buran.ru (in Russian) (Also see buran.ru author's comments about this section at Новости Космонавтики forum: 1, 2).
- Winged Kliper at MAKS-2005 Air Show (August 2005)
- Kliper mock-up photo gallery (May 2005). Also see the thread at Новости Космонавтики forum about the presentation on November 30 2004 (in Russian).
- ESA on its permanent cooperation with Russia in space and Putin's commitment to the Kliper project - 2004
- Europe envisages cooperation on new Russian space plane July 1, 2005
In the news
- February 14, 2006 - Kliper choice delayed
- January 31, 2006 - Energia holds lead in Kliper contest
- January 18, 2006 - Tender to build new-generation spaceship has started. (in Russian)
- January 17, 2006 - Clipper spacecraft constructor to be announced in February 2006
- December 9, 2005 - ESA vows to clinch cash for shuttle
- December 9, 2005 - Europe keen to join Russia in new spaceship project
- December 6, 2005 - Europeans Unlikely to Back Russia's Manned Space Vehicle
- November 1, 2005 - A lighter version of Kliper (which would work in combination with the Parom space tug) is under consideration by RSA and ESA
- October 12th, 2005 - Japanese Space Agency confirms its invitation to participate in the project
- October 6th, 2005 - Short note concerning the RSA's outline intention to use the Kourou launch site for Kliper
- September 28, 2005 - ESA chiefs release more information on the collaboration
- August 21, 2005 -- ESA and Russia collaborate on Kliper
- July 15, 2005 -- Europeans take on NASA
- June, 2005 -- Report on the Paris Air Show, partly about Kliper (in Russian)
- June 17, 2005 -- Spectrum article on Kliper at Le Bourget
- June 15, 2005 -- Europe and Russia team up for the Kliper spacecraft
- June 15, 2005 -- Article in the Pravda over the European-Russian partnership with Kliper (English)
- June 10, 2005 -- Information on Kliper's launch escape system
- February 15, 2005 -- Article in the Pravda on planned Kliper exposition at Le Bourget'2005 airshow
- September 2004 -- Mosnews - Russia Prepares Launch of New Space Shuttle -- (with image of barebone Kliper)
- April 2004 -- Energija's Nikolaj Brjuchanov and ESA's Joerg Feustel-Buechl on Kliper in ARD (German TV) [20] (in German)
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