Energia Booster Family

The Energia (SL-16, Type K) booster was a versatile launch vehicle which could launch either a cargo canister or a space shuttle orbiter into orbit. Project approval was in 1976, two years after the cancellation of the N-I booster. Buran development was started in 1980. The newly redesigned, much rumored, heavy lift booster was revealed, in 1986, to be similar to a U.S. concept Shuttle-C derivative booster. The Energia was designed by NPO-Energia under the direction of Cheif Designer Boris Gubanov. Its prime function was to be a shuttle booster to militarily counter the US shuttle. In addition, the Energia was a counter to similar US developments for the SDI program in the 1980's.

The Soviets had considered another name for the booster, Grom, which means thunder, but it was rejected because of the connotation of it carrying an explosive payload. The booster consisted of a core stage which had four LOX-hydrogen high pressure pre-burning main engines, and four modified Zenit type first stages as strap-on boosters. The core engines produced from 148,000 kg. to 200,000 kg. vacuum thrust each, and the strap-on engines produced about 740,000 kg. to 806,000 kg. vacuum each. Total thrust at launch was 3,600,000 kg.. The booster was designed to withstand the failure of any three strap-on or core engines and achieve a safe abort of the flight. The booster could withstand the failure of any single engine of the core or strap-on's and continue in flight. Directional control of the boosters first stage burn is accomplished by gimballing the strap-on's engines which can produce up to 50,000 kg. thrust on the rotational axis. During the second stage burn, the core stage engines can produce 30,000 kg. axial thrust. 100 core engines were built for the initial production run of the Energia, and more than 600 test firings had been made with total operation time of 120,000 seconds into 1989, the equivilant burning time for about 222 normal missions.

This was the Soviets first operational use of cryogenic hydrogen as propellant. Cryogenic hydrogen is a difficult substance to work with requiring new metals and engineering techniques for the Soviets. For example, when the Energia core stage is filled with propellant, its structure contracts due to exposure to the cold fluid which shortens the length of the booster by over 1/10th of a meter.

Each strap-on booster was 41.6 meters tall and about 4 meters wide. The core stage was 61.3 meters long and eight meters wide. Maximum width of the assembled booster at the base was 16 meters. The Soviets claimed that the core was designed to ultimately be fully recoverable although initial versions were expendable. The future plan is to add wings to the stage for a runway recovery at the launch site. The Energia strap-on's were also designed to be recovered by parachute after launch. Each was designed to carry parachute breaking systems in the box structures on the forward and aft ends of each booster. During initial flight testing, the strap-on's were expendable and Cheif Designer Gubanov was not optomistic about the effectivness of reusing the boosters after this type of recovery. The Soviets also anticipate expanding the payload capability to 200,000 kg. by adding additional strap-on boosters and larger upper stages.

Dry weight of the entire booster was estimated at 55,000 kg., and 2,400,000 kg. fully fueled and loaded. The Energia could lift about 100,000 kg to 180 km circular orbit. When launching a payload on the shuttle orbiter, the payload was estimated at 33,000 kg..

Components of the core booster stage are flown to Baykonur from the factory near Moscow on the modified Bison (201M) bombers (redesignated VM-T {for Vladimir Myasishchev - Transport} and named Atlant) which were also used to transport initial shuttle orbiters. The problem of transportation came up early in the Energia development in the 1970's and the modified bomber was chosen as an interum solution. It was developed on a tight schedule. The wings were strengthened, the tail replaced, and the engines uprated. Still, there were deficencies including the fact that the planes overtaxed engines could not produce enough power to pressurize the large tanks it would carry. So the tanks were pressurized on the ground and sealed very tightly and monitored in flight for any pressure loss which would cause deformation in flight as the wind pressed on the tank. In the future it was expected to use the An-124 as a carrier, but unexpectedly, that plane turned out to be a few meters too short and a new version (An-225) had to be produced later.

The first flight of a VM-T and a Energia hydrogen tank on Jan. 6, 1982, produced some surprises including a structutal problem in the tail of the carrier. The crew was prepared to abandon the plane but the flight was successful. The first tank was delivered to Baykonur in April 1982. Test flights carrying tanks continued until April of 1990.A special large building (274 m by 160 m by 4 tall) is used to assemble the core stages and engines. From there the core moves to another building for joining with boosters and the mobile transporter. Up to 15 boosters can be assembled in the second building at the same time. The Energia booster is assembled horizontally on a small rail transporter in a short, long assembly building (155 m by 24 m and 35 m tall) next to the taller shuttle (old G type) assembly building (240 m by 60 m tall). Four boosters could be assembled at the same time within the building. The bases of all Energia boosters are mated to a mobile launcher mating unit before being taken to the launch pad. The mating unit is what the booster sits on when placed on the launch pad and connects all booster hydrolic, electrical, and propellant drains. Hydrogen vent, communications, guidance and fueling lines are carried in launch tower swing arms. Inside the booster, low-inertia gas analyzers monitor levels of hydrogen and oxygen and initiate nitrogen purge if high levels are detected.

It was planned that 5-6 Energia could be launched a year using the facilities constructed initially for the project at Baykonur. Those facilities required 14,000 people to construct, and 10,000 to maintain. This contributes to the high cost of the booster, nearly as high if not higher than the US Space Shuttle.

If a shuttle is to be mated to the Energia, the booster is taken to the old N-1 assembly building. The shuttle is lifted onto the back of the Energia and then taken to the launch pad. Up to two complete shuttle stacks could be accomadated inside the building. The tansporter, modified from its N-1 days, is built onto parallel rail cars set 18 meters apart. The maximum capacity of the transporter is 3500,000 kg.. The propellant and assmebly facilities are said to be larger then those built to support the Saturn V at the Kennedy Space Center in the 1960s. Three computer systems were installed to command the booster, monitor the booster and operate the launch complex systems. The Soviets stated that the booster monitor processor could measure 2000 parameters during the countdown. Each computer system consists of two processors, any two of which is capable of continuing a launch if the other four failed. The operating processors were also be able to restore any failed processor to normal operating mode. Over 500 emergency conditions are programmed into the computers which could prompt the launch console operators with programmed responses to the emergency situation. In the event of any failure during the countdown, the launch processors would automatically issued commands to safe the booster. A failure of any system from T minus 30 minutes in the countdown when the on-board launch sequencer is started would cause a delay in the launch.

The Energia/shuttle launch complex consists of three launch pads. Two were modified N-1 launch pads originally built in the late 1960s. These were equipped to launch a Energia/shuttle combination. The third launch pad called the Multipurpose Launcher Testbed and was built specifically to launch Energia boosters only, and to test fire Energia's engines prior the first launch in 1987. In all cases, there are similarities between the launch pads. The booster sits near the corner of a square 90 meters tall launch tower. Large umbilical swing arms are mounted on the tower to reach the core stages inter-tank structure on the side of the booster opposite from the payload carrier or shuttle orbiter. All launch pads have water sound suppression systems which flood the openings into the flame trench, and after launch spray water up into the exhaust of the booster.

The two modified launch pads are much more complex because of the special needs of the shuttle orbiter. The two complexes have twin fixed towers that stand on each side of the Energia/Shuttle. One on the right side services the Energia, the one on the left services the shuttle providing communications and command links (for giudance updates) and provides crew access walkways and dual 3 meter diameter escape chutes (with trolly cars for escape in 15 sec). A rotating service structure services the shuttle orbiter and may install cargos into the shuttle payload bay. The Energia's giudance system is updated shortly before liftoff by a optoelectronic measurment system.

The new third Energia launch pad used a moving service structure that could be rolled up next to the launch tower, to install and service a payload canister using fold out platforms. The arrangement was very similar to the U.S. SLC-6 launch complex at Vandenburg AFB. The service tower was about 100 meters tall and was positioned about 150 meters away from the launch pad for a launch. The booster sits over a single 40 meter deep flame trench which extended away from the pad, opposite the service tower. A press viewing site was positioned 12 km. from the launch pad.

All three of the launch pads are surrounded by two 225 meter lightning towers and two shorter lighting towers. All four towers were about 150 meters from the pad and all were equipped with flood lights to illuminate the launch pad. The launch pads were connected to the launch control rooms in underground bunkers near the pads by three communications links for booster commands and telemetry, and launch pad propellant loading and other controls.

In December 1986, reports stated that the shuttle orbiter was attached to the Energia booster while on the pad for fit checks and then removed. In late 1986, the Energia core booster and its four strap-on's were tested for several seconds in a static firing on the pad.

On May 11, 1987, General Secretary Gorbachev visited the cosmodrome and inspected equipment for the first Soviet shuttle launch and the new Energia booster. The Energia was first launched on May 15, 1987, at 9:30 P.M.. The launch was originally scheduled for daylight hours, but was delayed several hours due to technical difficulties. The launch was announced less than 24 hours in advance and was shown on Soviet television within 24 hours. At lift-off, the booster weighed about two million kg. and produced 170 million horsepower. The booster carried the Polyus/Skif-DM satellite, a prototype laser battlestation. to test SDI type systems. The strap-on boosters comprising the first stage were jettisoned in pairs, after 2.5 minutes. Though ultimately designed to be recoverable, the boosters for the first flight were not intended to be reused. The core stage fired for nine minutes, when it reached an altitude of 80 to 95 km. at an inclination of 65°. After separating from the core, the orientation system for the upper stage pods failed and they fired in the wrong direction to place the payload carrier into orbit. The core stage and payload reentered and burned up over the Pacific ocean.

The second test flight of the Energia was postponed due to the problems encountered by the first launch and due to the fact that the first launch heavily damaged the launch pad and its underground bunker. It was reported by Aviation Week that a U.S. KH-11 reconnaissance satellite photographed the second Energia booster placed on the launch pad and removed again before the end of 1987. The second test flight occurred on Nov. 15, 1988 at 6:24 P.M. and carried the first Soviet space shuttle orbiter into orbit.

Soviet engineers have contemplated modifying the Energia, by using eight strap-on boosters it was possible to increase payload capabilities. These modifications could raise the payload capability to 200,000 kg. to low Earth orbit. Similiarly, using only two strap-on boosters would lower payload to about 65,000 kg.. Others said that future boosters would be four times larger than Energia or about 9,600,000 kg..

Another TsAGI study was to add wings to a Energia core to make a flyback booster. The results of this study was revealed by Boris Gubanov in 1990 through an agreement with the Space Studies Institute to distribute Soviet technical papers. The plan put four strap-on boosters with fold out wings and a jet engine, above the wings on the flyback booster. The booster core would also have 12 LOX-Kerosene (70 m/s) deorbit engines added to the boat tail. The payload would be carried on top of the core in a shroud over 17 meters long. The shroud would retract over the booster to shorten the lenght for more favorable reentry flight characteristics. Landing weight would be 100,000 kg. with a cross range of 1250 km. and landing speed of 340 km/h.

An Energia flight was once scheduled for 1990, to launch a multiple satellite payload and further test the young booster and ground crews, but no payload was ever selected to fly since other boosters were cheaper. From late 1989 until April 1990, a structural test article booster was placed on the third launch pad to test new fuelling procedures which lowered the temperature of the propellants enabeling more to be carried and increasing payload by 1000 kg.. A new building was also being built at the pad to support Energia launches.

By late 1989, NPO Energia was designing a new version of the Energia with a upper stage to place 18,000 Kg. satellites in geostationary orbit. This was in support of th plan for a large new communications satellite with 30 meter antennas and triple redundant systems to enable 10 year lifespan. Cheif Designer Yuri Semenov was convinced at the time that the concept was promising and even suggested he himself would try to get a personal loan to proceed with the project. A test flight of the new Energia version was hoped for by 1992 to demonstrate launching a geostationary satellite and compete for international busniess. All these hopes faded with the worsening economic conditions in the aftermath of the USSR's breakup.

A smaller version of the Energia was proposed and a test article constructed. It consisted of a smaller core stage with a single RD-120 engine and 2 Energia type strap-on boosters. The test article was flown to Baykonur and fitted on the launch pad but that's as far ts development got. The booster competed for future geostationary satellite launches with the proposed Proton-M but the hugh cost of maintaining the massive launch facilities built for the Energia doomed the plan to failure.

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