The Baikal booster (russian: Байкал) was a proposed reusable flyback

booster Booster may refer to: Amusement rides * Booster (Fabbri ride), a pendulum ride * Booster (HUSS ride), an evolution of the Breakdance ride * Booster (KMG ride), a pendulum ride Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Booster, a cha ...

for the Angara rocket family based on the Angara

Universal Rocket Module Universal Rocket Module (URM) is the name of the modular Liquid rocket, liquid fuelled first and second stage of the Angara (rocket family), Angara expendable launch system. The first stage and booster variant is referred to as URM-1, while the s ...

in 2001. It was designed by the Molniya Research and Industrial Corporation (

NPO Molniya NPO Molniya (''lightning'') (russian: Научно-производственное объединение «Молния») is a Russian scientific and production enterprise, founded on February 26, 1976. Currently part of Rostec Rostec ( rus ...

) for the

Khrunichev The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (''Государственный космический научно-производственный центр (ГКНПЦ) имени М. В. Хру́ничева'' in Russian) is ...

Space centre, reusing the flyback and control system for the reusable Buran orbiter.

Description

The booster would be equipped with an RD-191 rocket engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen to provide approximately 200 tons of thrust. In addition, it would be equipped with a folding wing stored parallel to the fuselage of the vehicle during the booster stage of the flight. After separation from the Angara launcher's second stage at an altitude of about 75 kilometers and a speed of , the Baikal's wing would rotate 90 degrees and the booster glides in upside down position reducing speed. Once the booster reaches subsonic speeds, a U-turn is performed and an air-breathing

RD-33 The Klimov RD-33 is a turbofan jet engine for a lightweight fighter jet that is the primary engine for the Mikoyan MiG-29 and CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder. It was developed in OKB-117 led by S. P. Izotov (now OAO Klimov) from 1968 with production star ...

jet engine in its nose section is started to fly back to its launching site and make a powered horizontal landing on a runway. Apart from economic advantages, this procedure greatly reduces the risk of falling space debris. Reducing this risk was important as the Angara rockets will be launched from the deep inland

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Plesetsk Cosmodrome ( rus, Космодром «Плесецк», r=Kosmodrom "Plesetsk", p=kəsmɐˈdrom plʲɪˈsʲet͡sk) is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 ...

Development

A full-size engineering mock-up of the Baikal was exhibited at the

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...

in July 2001. Similar mockups were tested in wind tunnels of the Central Aero- and Hydrodynamics Institute

TsAGI The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, russian: Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т, ЦАГИ, Tsentral'nyy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut, ...

, at speeds of 0.5 - 10 Mach. However, according to unofficial statements by Khrunichev Center representatives, there would have been a long development program to the production of models for captive tests, and the mock-up demonstrated at Le Bourget differs greatly in appearance and design from the Baikal that will actually be launched. As of June 2016, the development was essentially complete, but funding for the manufacture of the flying prototype of the recoverable booster was absent due to the low expected launch rate.

References

* * * {{Russian space program Space launch vehicles of Russia Cancelled space launch vehicles Former proposed space launch system concepts Rocket engines using kerosene propellant

Description

Development

See also

References