Press Conference with RKK Energia President Nikolai Sevastyanov et al. on Russian Advanced Space Exploration Projects
ESA News from Moscow, Special Issue № 2, February 6, 2006
Permanent Mission in Moscow support site
Publication Manager: Alain Fournier-Sicre
Editorial Staff: Tatiana Suslova, Andrei Krasnov
Executive summary:
Russia’s leading space company RKK Energia laid out an ambitious plan to send manned missions to the moon by 2015, build a permanent base to tap its energy resources and dispatch a crew to Mars between 2020-2030.
The program presented by Nikolai Sevastyanov, the head of RKK Energia, relies on hopes of attracting private investment.
Russian government officials have spoken vaguely in support of future moon and Mars missions, but have made no specific commitments.
Sevastyanov said that Energia, the manufacturer of Soyuz and Progress spacecraft that ferry crew and supplies to the International Space Station, would rely on those ships during the first phase of its moon exploration program.
The company will first offer a commercial trip around the moon in a Soyuz that could be made around 2009, Sevastyanov said. He added that his company already has talked to foreign investors interested in the project, but refused to give any names or specifics.
During the next stage, Energia plans to employ a reusable spacecraft now under development, the Clipper. In late 2005 the RF government launched a tender for a new reusable manned spacecraft with three companies participating: RKK Energia (Clipper), NPO Molniya (MAKS) and Khrunichev (TKS).
The winner will be announced in June 2006 – see NFM 7/2006).
The Clipper, which will have six seats compared to Soyuz’s three, would be capable of delivering crews to the international space station and also become the basis for future moon missions.
Sevastyanov said it would cost around €1.24 billion to complete research and build a fleet of five Clipper spacecraft. Energia so far has relied on its own funds while conducting preliminary design work on the ship; the government has not yet awarded a contract for the new spacecraft to Energia. Clipper could be commissioned between 2012-2015.
He said that Energia had offered the European Space Agency a place in the project and that the negotiations were continuing. During the second stage of the moon program, Energia plans to fly six manned missions to the moon estimated to cost around €1.65 billion, Sevastyanov said.
Finally, Energia hopes to set up a permanent moon base complete with a nuclear power plant and equipment to start tapping helium-3 as an energy source to satisfy the energy demands back on Earth around 2020.
Scientists believe that the moon’s supply of helium-3 could be used in futuristic fusion reactors on Earth that would generate electricity without producing nuclear waste.
Sevastyanov said that a moon exploration program envisaging the delivery of 10 tons of helium to Earth would cost about €33 billion.
A mission to Mars could be launched between 2020 and 2030.
RIA Novosti, 15:45, April 11, 2006
Moderator: Good day, dear guests and colleagues, I am the head of the RIA Novosti Press Club. Welcome. We are beginning our press conference.
We have gathered on the eve of the 45th anniversary of the first manned space mission. Using the opportunity I would like to congratulate our guests on this occasion. The topic of our press conference is “RKK Energia: From a Manned Space Mission to Commercial Space Exploration.” We will talk in particular about the main guidelines for RKK Energia’s work in 2013-2015, including the development of the Russian segment of the ISS.
We will also talk about prospects for automatic space systems, including the shuttle Clipper, and discuss a Moon commercial exploration program for 20052030, as well as a manned mission to Mars, which is planned for 2025-2030.
Let me introduce our guests to you. These people are the top officials at RKK Energia. Nikolai Nikolayevich Sevastyanov, President and General Designer; Boris Yevseyevich Chertok, an Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Chief Scientific Consultant for RKK Energia; Alexander Fyodorovich Strekalov, First Vice-President, Director of the Pilot Engineering Plant; Vladimir Alexeyevich Solovyov, Vice-President, Deputy General Designer, Mission Control Chief; and Sergey Konstantinovich Krikalev, instructor, cosmonaut and test pilot.
Let me turn the floor over to Nikolai Sevastyanov.
Sevastyanov: […] We have defined a development concept for the coming 25 years, and it consists of four phases. The first one is commercial development of near Earth space on the basis of the development of the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Phase Two calls for the creation of the Clipper reentry transport system, which will allow substantially improving technical and economic parameters of transport operations, manned space flights and cargo delivery. The third phase is the lunar program, the beginning of commercial development of the Moon. The fourth phase is manned flights to Mars.
The International Space Station and Phase One dealing with it, with the development of the Russian segment – we realize now that the goals of the ISS will have to be somewhat modified to take account of that goal. We are formulating five objectives today.
One of them is an international spaceport. Second, fundamental research and experiments. Third, the development of new space technologies in the interests of Earth industries. Fourth, preparation for lengthy manned interplanetary flights. Fifth, facilities for assembly and maintenance of interorbital complexes for flights to the Moon and Mars. Let me briefly describe those objectives.
The ISS as an international spaceport. We can see today that Soyuz and Progress are not the only spacecraft flying to the ISS. There also are Shuttles. Next year Europe’s first cargo spacecraft will fly there and its flights will continue to deliver European cargoes to European modules. By the way, RKK Energia takes part in this project. We have provided the main systems, docking systems, refueling systems for the European spacecraft. In 2009 the first Japanese cargo vehicle HTV is to be launched and afterwards it will be delivering cargoes for the Japanese module, the research module on ISS.
And of course we are planning, after the Clipper system is operational – Clippers will also fly to ISS. And NASA has just announced that a new project of a transportation system, of an American CEV transportation system is being developed which will also replace the Shuttle and will dock with the International Space Station and take American astronauts there after 2012-2014.
Research experiments. Russia today has formed a long-term program of scientific experiments comprising 331 experiment in 11 different areas over the next ten years. I must say that the research programs of Europe and Japan are not less, but significantly are larger than our research program, but in general it is still a major contribution to the study of outer space and the Solar system.
The next task of the ISS is to develop new space technologies in the interests of industry on Earth. This is a new area. Today we see that the International Space Station may become a good laboratory for creating new technologies in the interests of industry on Earth. Not just to meet the needs of fundamental research, but precisely to meet the needs of industry. That includes development of antenna systems for communications satellites which are today already being integrated in ground industrial complexes. One example is the Yamal system of communications satellites which is today integrated into the industrial system of Gazprom, of the oil and coal industries in many regions. You know that the Yamal system beams more than 60 Russian television channels.
The development of large antenna technology (see NFM 1/2006) today makes it possible to improve the capacity and cut the cost of informatization of society. Then there is the development of hyper spectrometers for observation satellites which are also being included in the industrial infrastructure.
In addition, there is production of crystals for laser systems on the ground which increase the speed of data transfer and of computing systems by an order of magnitude. It includes also medicines. Just three days ago we at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, which is the spearhead medical space research institution, reviewed an experiment that will be conducted soon: cultivation of stem cells that can help rejuvenate the human organism.
You know that when a human grows they acquire a spatial genetic structure in the organism, but attempts to artificially grow them in conditions of gravitation so far have failed because the Earth’s gravitation prevents them from spatial growth. Growing them in conditions of weightlessness is an experiment that may produce a breakthrough in medicine. I have just cited some examples of applied uses of ISS.
Then, there is the role of the ISS in developing long interplanetary expedition plans. That includes development of a closed-cycle life support system and of on-board systems of long duration and development of close-cycle ecological systems.
And the fifth task involves the role of the ISS as a site for assembly and maintenance of inter-orbital complexes. As you will see later the ISS today plays the role of an international port that significantly reduces technical risks and cuts the cost of programs of flights to the Moon and other bodies in the Solar system, I mean manned flights.
What is the outlook for the development of the Russian segment? In 2008 we are to launch a new multi-purpose laboratory module which will become part of the Russian segment and by 2015 a number of research and energy modules are to be launched for the development of the Russian segment.
We already see today that Russia cannot just meet its own scientific and technical interests, but render services to others. Similarly, we have started rendering transportation services in delivering cosmonauts to space on a commercial basis. Not only tourists, but, as you know, other space agencies, including NASA, today pay for our services and that money pays some of the costs of manned space exploration.
But today we can also render services to other countries on our Russian segment in the conduct of both fundamental and applied experiments. In short, the Russian space exploration effort gradually is beginning to pay its way. One of the main tasks, of course, is to work in this direction.
On the whole, if one looks at the Russian segment on the International Space Station, it looks like this. You can see it in this slide. That’s how it will look actually in 2015.
The next area is the Clipper reusable space transportation system. Yes, it is a new system. We are aware that we need to dramatically improve the technical and economic parameters of manned flights, and we have to cut the cost of manned space flights and delivery of cargoes by three to five times. On the other hand, we should provide greater access for clients, so to speak. We should diminish the load on our cosmonauts with respect to the Soyuz vehicle and cut the period of time that it takes to train cosmonauts for space flights.
We are planning to have a crew of six on the Clipper: two professional cosmonauts and four cosmonauts can be nonprofessionals. That would significantly expand the market of manned flights because in addition to professional cosmonauts a market emerges for astronauts of other space agencies of other countries, both representing state and private research institutions, and of course, a market of tourists.
Under the business plan we have developed and under the feasibility studies, the Clipper system is as profitable as the Yamal program in its time. Only 10 years ago no one said that space communications can pay back, that in terms of economic effectiveness investments in it are just as profitable as investments in Earth projects. Today we have shown that it is economically effective, and we have set the same task with regard to manned flights.
Next slide. Let me just say that we are drawing on the experience of the Soyuz spaceships. You will see that the equipment and the living quarters are entirely used on the Clipper, and the landing craft, instead of being a capsule, turns into a glider, and its capacity increases to six crew members. That will make it possible to use the Clipper repeatedly and cut the load on cosmonauts.
Here you see the layout of the Clipper spaceship, it includes the airframe, the cockpit, the quarters for equipment and for living and a module for emergency rescue using hard-alloy units. We are working on that in partnership with the Sukhoi with which are developing the glider and we traditionally cooperate on space technology which is used to implement Soyuz, Progress and other projects.
We want the Clipper project to fit into the existing transportation infrastructure. And you see that we are planning to use the launch facilities created for Soyuz, after modernizing them, and the ground control and landing strip that were used for Buran. And I just say that the Clipper uses the scientific and technical ideas developed for Buran. And then there is the cosmonaut training complex.
I would like to say that the Clipper project will be used for various needs. It will be used for flights to the ISS, for autonomous manned complexes and the technology we are creating for the Clipper will be used in future transportation systems for missions to the Moon on a reusable basis and for the Martian complex. But I will say more about it in a minute.
Here is a picture of what the Clipper looks like when it flies through space. It has an interesting air dynamic shape and let me say that modern computer systems have enabled us to develop such an air dynamic shape. Unlike the Shuttle and the Buran, which were developed 30 years ago, modern computers make it possible to optimize the air dynamic shape so that the average temperature at re-entry is 500 degrees lower than on the Shuttle and Buran, which is especially important, as you know, for wing edges.
So, today we see the start of not only new technologies as regards instruments, but also as regards the air dynamic shape which makes for greater reliability, reduces temperatures and makes the landing craft more safe.
The Moon program, the start of industrial development of Moon. What are the goals there? First, extraction of minerals, including Helium-3 to meet the Earth’s energy needs. You know that the issue is discussed in society. We know that on a pessimistic estimate the oil and gas resources will last until the middle of this century, and under an optimistic scenario until the end of this century. But anyway, the reserves are limited. The same is true of uranium reserves. And today humanity faces a real problem of developing alternative sources of energy, thermonuclear energy based on ecologically pure components. Helium-3 is one such component which we are studying together with the Kurchatov Center to see if it can be used.
We recently were visited by the director of the Space Policy Institute of the US, Logsdon, and we discussed the American program with him. We asked him, “what is the strategic goal of the development of the Moon?” And he said that one of the strategic goals was Helium-3 because we all understand that the question of energy for the Earth is on the agenda.
The second area is shifting hazardous and energy-intensive production from the Earth to the Moon. It may seem strange at first sight. But if we have an economically efficient transportation system, even if you take a cell phone, something that everybody uses today, we know that it has microchips which are very small in size, but many people do not know that they sit atop an energy pyramid. And of course, the possibility to manufacture new technology which consumes a lot of energy and the issues of energy intensive and environmentally hazardous production, of course, it has to be taken off the Earth. The Moon is one place where such production can be pursued.
The next area is to develop production that requires small gravitation conditions. We have already mentioned it. The growing of stem cells in weightlessness for medical needs and the production of extra-strong alloys. That also calls for small gravitation.
And for the future it is also the creation of means to produce fuel to ensure interplanetary flights as well as astrophysical research on the Moon surface.
We plan to implement the Lunar program in three stages. The first stage will be based on the existing Soyuz technologies. Today using the Soyuz boosters, with some upgrading, we are even planning serial production of Soyuz and Proton rockets. Today we believe it is feasible technically to create inter-orbital complex for Moon flights on the basis of the International Space Station.
First, of course, will be a flight around the Moon. We are working on that now. But we want to go further and to land on the Moon. But today that would require docking with the lunar landing and takeoff module in an orbit near the Moon. But I would like to say that during the last 40 years the technologies of docking in orbit and of creating large complexes is so advanced that it is quite a feasible task.
While in the 1960s when America and the Soviet Union tried to implement the Moon program, the emphasis was on creating huge rockets that would put in orbit payloads of more than 100 tons, and that is the mass necessary to create such a complex which would have enough fuel to reach the Moon, today the same task can be solved by assembling such complexes in orbit without launching everything from Earth by a single rocket.
That greatly reduces technical risks. Because you understand that rockets are systems operating in extreme conditions and it is better to use serial rockets which have been thoroughly tested in flight.
And secondly, and most importantly, they gradually reduce economic risks and the cost of the program. We have estimated that it would take no more than 2 billion dollars to replicate the Apollo and Saturn-5 program on the basis of Soyuz technologies and DM upper stages and serial Soyuz and Proton rockets. That is several hundred times less than the Americans spent in the 1960s. In the prices of the time they spent 24 billion dollars in the 1960s, but considering inflation, the spending today would be several hundred times less. This is because the Soviet union and later Russia invested heavily over the 40 years in the development of space technologies and the creation of space infrastructure. Today we need relatively little money to implement this program and to lift the level of integration of that program on the basis of existing technologies.
The second stage would require cutting-edge technologies. When we talk about creating a permanent transportation system between the Earth and the Moon on the basis of reusable technologies, there must be an orbital station near the Moon which will be the other port and where transport vehicles can be refueled after bringing cosmonauts there and docking with the lunar docking station, to become refueled and then go on a return journey.
Cargoes and fuel will be delivered by tugs powered by electrical and jet engines which permit delivering heavy cargoes more slowly but with a lot of fuel economy. It shows here how Clipper technologies are transferred to a reusable vehicle that will fly to the Moon and back.
Next slide. It shows the orbital tug that will deliver station modules and fuel to the lunar orbit.
This is the work that RKK Energia is doing currently. And we are planning to put these ideas into practice.
And the third stage is the start of industrial development of the Moon, of industry on the Moon. That includes a nuclear energy plant and equipment for mining of minerals. Before we have a lunar base, there must be an infrastructure around the Moon. It should include a lunar orbital station as a space port and communications satellites, surveillance and distance sensing satellites. By the way, satellite communications and remote sensing satellites are being actively discussed between space agencies. A month ago a first meeting took place at the International Electrical Communications Union to discuss the distribution of frequencies between American, Russian, European, Chinese and Japanese programs of Moon and Mars exploration. So, when we speak about industrial development of the Moon everybody says that an information infrastructure should be created in the vicinity of these planets.
So, as we are dividing frequencies at the International Electrical Communications Union, and as just we are dividing orbital positions, discussions are already under way and real negotiations are under way between participants with regard to the Moon and Mars. And the fourth phase is a manned expedition Mars. RKK Energia has developed such a project. We have presented it jointly with our partners, the Keldysh Institute, the Space Research Institute and other leading institutes. We have submitted it to Roscosmos and the Academy of Sciences. The project basically involves the use of technologies developed at the previous stages. Today we are capable of creating a Martian complex.
If you take a closer look, what does it comprise? It is an electrical jet engine. Large solar batteries and engines. We have already pout these technologies in hardware. Electrical jet engines power communications satellites and other space objects. We have developed the technique of deploying large Solar cells on the Mir space station. Many will remember that they use the Sofor technologies. It is realistic to create an engine that uses Solar energy and saves a lot of fuel – xenon – and it can deliver cosmonauts to Mars and back again.
The orbital craft itself. It uses the technology on Mir and the ISS, the service module. What is an interplanetary spaceship? In fact it is also an orbital station, only the orbital station flies around the Earth and this module should fly to Mars and back. We have developed this technology and it is the basis of a future Martian complex.
The new elements, of course, include the landing and takeoff module for Mars. In general, we plan to carry out the Mars mission in three stages. I mean the initial part will contain three stages.
First, is the creation of an interplanetary expedition complex, its testing in near-Earth space. That is, a flight to the Moon, transfer to the lunar orbit and return to Earth.
The second flight would be the first planned expedition to Mars, but without landing cosmonauts on the Mars surface, only with the landing of unmanned craft to explore Mars. You know that one of the difficulties in exploring Mars is that it takes 40 minutes to travel there and back. And this, of course, hinders the work of unmanned craft because they cannot be controlled in real time. The first manned expedition to Mars involves the Mars complex shifting to the near-Mars orbit and automatic modules will land to explore Mars. Besides, a takeoff and landing module will be developed, an unmanned one.
After a return from Mars, the third expedition will be accomplished. If the previous one is successful, it will be possible for cosmonauts to land on the Mars surface. I would like to show you a picture. It is as though a view of the Martian surface from the module. Naturally, the Mars complex will have to be brought back into the near Earth orbit. The cosmonauts will then move to an orbital station, the international space station, and comfortably land to the Earth on the board the Clipper. This is the technology that is being developed today for the Mars flight.
Let me note that starting with the Clipper project, we tend to move to reusability of spacecraft. We understand today that real commercial development of space may only be implemented if the reusability of spacecraft are ensured. This would substantially improve technical and economic parameters of flights.
Multiple does not mean only the number of flights. It also means long-term functioning in space – 15, 20, 30 years also means multiple. You may have noticed that starting with the Clipper, we will make multiple flights between the Earth and the near-Earth orbit. Later we will shift to a multiple system for flights from the near- Earth orbit to the near-Moon orbit. The Mars complex will also be made to allow multiple uses. That is, after a return, maintenance operations will be performed, spacecraft will be refueled and will be able to make a new flight to Mars. […]
[…] As for the lunar program, I have said already that it will include three stages. The first one is to be implemented between 2010 and 2015, the second one from 2015 to 2020 and the third phase, a lunar base, from 2020 to 2025.
We plan accomplishing a flight to Mars between 2020 and 2030 […].
Moderator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, Nikolai Sevastyanov has made the presentation of the activities of RKK Energia. Before we pass on to your questions, let me explain something to you. Boris Chertok will answer questions on the history of space research. Alexander Strekalov will deal with the manufacturing of aerospace equipment. You may ask Vladimir Solovyov questions on the operation and maintenance of the ISS and flight control. Sergei Krikalev will comment on cosmonaut training. Nikolai Sevastyanov is responsible for everything and is ready to answer any questions.
Q: France Presse. Several questions on the Clipper. How much will it cost to manufacture that system? What are you going to do to deal with financing? Do you still rely on your European colleagues? Have you negotiated it with the Chinese? Or maybe you rely on yourselves? Thank you.
Sevastyanov: A good question.
Well, we see its current state as a fully-fledged system, a transport system that should replace the Soyuz system. It is a fleet of five spacecraft with modernized rockets and the like, $1.5 billion. Five spacecraft.
Clearly, it all starts with design and pilot activities. Roscosmos has announced a tender, in line with the Russian law. We are taking part. We realize today that the Clipper system as a commercial system could be created using extrabudgetary sources. The European Space Agency has really voiced its readiness to take part in this project. Last year we negotiated this. The Japanese side also got interested. I think the final answers on who takes part in this project will be clear by the middle of the year. […]
Q: Economic News Agency. My first question concerns what you just commented on. If we take all funds used for space research as 100 percent, what is the share of financing from the budget, from the state? What share comes from profits of the enterprise? What share comes as private investment? […]
Sevastyanov: […] 49 percent come from state orders and 51 percent is what we make on supplies of products and services to consumers.
[…] The company’s income was around 7 billion rubles last year. As for profits, naturally, Energia faced problems in previous years. We were in the red for three years, 2002, 2003, 2004. At long last in 2005 we posted profits. This year we plan net profits of at least 154 million. […]
Q: Are there any other programs for Moon and Mars exploration? Sevastyanov: A new federal space program until the year 2015 was approved last year. No manned landings on the Moon are planned before 2015. There is some talk about introducing the next program, a program beyond 2015. But we think that we can fly around the Moon and put a man on the Moon before 2015. And knowing that this is not part of the federal program, we look toward off-budget investments. […]
Q: (Off-mike). Sevastyanov: We evaluated the lunar program, for example, if it is implemented on the basis of the Soyuz spacecraft and boosters, with six landings on the Moon, with flights around the Moon, with preparation procedures for a separate expedition, with docking operations on the lunar orbit and the like. We estimate that to cost $2 billion, six expeditions to the Moon. As though by analogy with the American program of the 1960s and 1970s, Soyuz-Saturn-5 – sorry, Apollo-Saturn-5.
As for a permanent transport scheme, we have not estimated it separately. We evaluated – this may seem exotic – but we evaluated the creation of a system for commercial production and transportation of Helium-3 to the Earth. Naturally, it includes the transport system and lunar infrastructure. Last year we evaluated it at $40 billion. This concerns bringing about 10 tons of Helium-3 a year to the Earth.
Clearly, we could have made mistakes at the current stage, but we estimated that proceeding from our experience and knowledge.
When we evaluated economic efficiency of those projects, from the point of view of energy efficiency, the helium projects internal rate of return (IRR) was close to 30 percent. We know that energy projects implemented on the Earth have IRR ranging from 12 to 15 percent. If the IRR of our project is down to that level, costs may reach $200 billion for the production of 10 tons of helium-3 a year. And the IRR will not be worse than here on planet Earth. […]
Solovyov: I can just add the following. The experience of long space missions such as Mir, the International Space Station and so on shows that we are quite capable of maintaining an environment which is comfortable enough and in which one can work productively. We can even maintain an autonomous environment, for example, in a flight to Mars. We have the equipment, the main technical principles as to how to equip an autonomous spacecraft for a long flight to ensure good life support, power supply, proper gas composition, renewable products, renewable water supply. The main technical problems in these areas have been solved. And honestly, our long-lasting cooperation with such major academic organizations as the Institute of Medical and Biological Studies, shows that we are doing very well and many of our foreign colleagues are learning from us. But Sergei [Krikalev] is right when he says that many things need additional testing and debugging so that we can be absolutely sure that spacemen and scientists could be sent to the Moon for a long stay there and on a prolonged flight to Mars. […]
Q: Discovery magazine. What is your opinion, in what way does the Clipper and its technology differ from the American plans for new space vehicles?
Sevastyanov: […] I say that the Shuttle has not been discredited as a plane and as a spacecraft. It has fully proved its operational capacity. Unfortunately, the two tragedies that occurred were caused by the carrier rocket. You know it, don’t you? The first time it blew up at launch and the second time the Shuttle was damaged by the carrier rocket. The shuttle has acquitted itself fully as a spacecraft in technical terms. […]
Our view is that winged system performs better in technical and economic terms. It is clear why. First, it uses the properties of the environment in which it re-enters – the atmosphere. Secondly, it helps to solve the problems of search and rescue. When the Shuttle lands on an airfield and it saves colossal amounts of effort and money required to search for the capsule in the location where it has landed or splashed down and so on.
From our information, then, NASA is contemplating a return to the Apollo scheme, and then it will see whether or not to use wings.
Q: But over here we are all for the wings.
Sevastyanov: Yes, today we say that this is the next step. We do not scrap the Soyuz capsule, we will continue using that capsule, and you see that the early flights to the Moon will use the Soyuz. There will be two systems coexisting: Clipper with wings that will deliver greater technical and economic efficiency, and Soyuz, which is a major scientific and technological achievement. We are not going to shut down that project.
Moderator: We have got a question for Boris Yevseyevich [Chertok]. Do you think the concept of the development of manned space exploration has a chance of being named a national Russian program?
Chertok: Well, since I appear to be the only man in this room who was directly involved in Gagarin’s flight under the leadership of Sergei Pavlovich Korolyov, I would like to congratulate everyone on the 45th anniversary of the first space flight. And I would like to say that Sergei Korolev then really showed his will, courage and ability to run risks. It was not easy to make this decision, because there were seven test launches before that to make sure that it was possible to bring a human into space using the world’s first Vostok spacecraft. Out of those seven launches, only three were successful, while four were failures where dogs were killed – we were not ready to send humans to space.
We stepped up the pace of preparations to be ready to launch the spacecraft on April 12, because we received information that the Americans were about to send their first astronaut to space. It was no longer possible to waste time with experiments, and this risky decision was made with the consent of the country’s top political leadership.
For those who have not read the diaries of General Kamanin, who headed cosmonaut training and represented the Air Force, I would like to remind that when they were making a choice between Gagarin and Titov, they found it hard to decide, as Kamanin put it, which of them should be sent to space, when it was clear that the first cosmonaut was sure to die. This was the way they regarded this risky enterprise, the launch of the first cosmonaut.
But we – in particular, myself, who was in charge of the control system – were optimists and we were certain that it will be a happy ending. You know the rest. All flights on board the Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft, which used to be much less complicated than today’s Soyuz spacecraft, were accomplished successfully. Misfortunes started when we shifted to a new qualitative stage and started work with Soyuz spacecraft.
As for prospects – perhaps, Nikolai Nikolayevich did not mention it because of his office position, perhaps he decided not to run risks – as long as Russia is a raw materials appendage, no large-scale program like flights to the Moon or Mars can be really accomplished. This is my personal point of view. I believe that for us to be able to accomplish such large-scale programs, we should first guarantee our space research, our scientific research, a solid foundation. In the past years we have degraded a lot in related areas, particularly in machine-building, aircraft building, electronics, radio engineering – not from the point of view of potential scientific achievements, but from the point of view of common industrial base that would let us manufacture products using state-of-theart technologies.
When you get into a modern Japanese automobile, you just switch on a navigator which shows you where and which way you can get, and it uses American, rather than Soviet or Russian satellites, it uses the GPS system. And that device that shows you the way, including in Moscow, with a precision rate up to 3 meters, is manufactured in China. We need to have at least some high technologies space research could rely on. There should be a powerful economic base.
In my opinion, the economic policy that has been pursued cannot let us attain the goals Nikolai Sevastyanov has spoken about here. All prospects of our advanced research, not just in space, but also in other spheres, depend a lot on the economic policy pursued by our government.
In April 1961 we felt confident. Even when running risks and thinking that the first human in space may die, we were not scared a lot. We knew that we would be given new opportunities and unlimited resources for proceeding with the experiment that would make the Soviet Union the leader in this respect and give our people this priority.
Well, you certainly do not remember those days after Gagarin’s flight. I have met with people from all layers of our society, even those having anti-Soviet, anticommunist feelings. They were all elated because every citizen of the country felt being part of that outstanding event in the history of our civilization. I am a citizen of the country that accomplished a breakthrough into an absolutely new sphere by having accomplished a manned space flight.
There was unity between the chief general designer, those who provided fundamental support, the Academy of Sciences, the Defense Ministry, other industrial sectors which used to provide support for us. To be able to launch Gagarin, we had to mobilize economic resources, using wartime mobilization methods. We had to pool the efforts of around 200 enterprises in various sectors. Doing this for the first time was not easy. But there was a system of centralized, purposeful support from the state, the state machinery. It may sound surprising but I cannot recall any bureaucratic barriers on the way to this great victory.
This is why, in my opinion, along with dealing with purely engineering and research problems –well, some describe it as evolution, while others say revolution –we need radical changes to our economic policy. As for ideological, spiritual aspects, an idea may become a reality when it is supported by the spirit of society, if there is a different moral level from that I have seen recently – as a professor of two higher educational institutions, unfortunately, I have to admit that quite often it happens that some of my students in the space research sphere then leave to commercial entities. Not long ago we summed up the results in one of those institutes to make sure that around 50 most talented students, whom we trained and expected them to work in our sector, either left the country to promote economic development abroad or have joined other organizations having nothing to do with space research.
So, this is why I find it hard to tell what may happen to our manned space research in 25 years. When asking a question on that, one should also ask the following question: What will happen to Russia in 25 years? If Russia, at long last, comes to its senses to become a country where economy is based on knowledge, where economy of knowledge prospers, everything Nikolai spoke about may be implemented.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, I would like to remind you that –I know history better than any one of those present here, because I was directly involved in all that. After Gagarin’s flight, after Titov’s flight, when Sergey Korolev was still alive, we met to draw up plans for conquering the Moon, Mars, creating large orbital stations. Briefly, they were large-scale problems, ambitious problems, and we worked on those. We believed that there would be a Soviet lunar base by the end of the 20th century, we had no doubts that a flight to Mars would be accomplished by the end of the 20th century. […]
Sevastyanov: Let me add something. When I was Boris Yevseyevich’s student – that was more than 20 year ago – he told us that we should not be afraid to attain the goal. Naturally, we need the state’s support. This is a prerequisite, but we should understand that space research should move to a new phase of commercial development. It should really make its commercial contribution to society. It should yield its effects to the economy. So, despite all those problems, we have to attain those goals. […]
Q: About helium.
Sevastyanov: Yes, about helium. My answer about helium will be simple. Of course, one hears a lot of criticism of this. But you know, before answering your question with figures, I will try to give you a general philosophical answer. I recently read a historical reference on how authoritative scientists reacted to technologies which are all in a day’s work today. For example, Rutherford, the founder of the atomic structure theory dismissed the idea of atomic energy, he claimed that the atom did not have enough energy to create a nuclear power industry. Edison, who was the first to invent a lamp and who lit up a system of street lights, he said it was criminal to even think about the use of alternating current for industrial purposes, he said those who contemplated it should go to jail because it would lead to dire consequences. And I could multiply my examples.
I simply want to say that naturally, when a new technology emerges, it means a new movement in society, discussions take place among experienced people, and of course, without enthusiasts nothing new would ever have been created.
About Helium-3 of course there are many pros and cons, and there are many gaps in our knowledge of it. But ultimately, it is not just about Helium-3. We are talking about developing new ecological sources of energy for civilization and about the contribution that each sector can make. And we the space community say today that we must study the question of the use and extraction of Helium3 for the energy needs of the Earth. We should at least study this issue. As it is, we are only starting the study and we are already slapped on the wrists.
Now I’ll answer you with figures. You know that a ton of Helium-3 is equivalent to about 15 million tons of oil.
In order to produce the amount of energy equal to that generated by RAO UES, Russia needs 10-15 tons of Helium3 a year. The Americans estimate they would need 25 tons, but that takes into account other alternative sources.
Now, what is Helium-3 in terms of extraction? You can extract a ton of Helium-3 from an area of 20 square kilometers, because it is recovered from the surface 3 meter layer of caked dust. A ton of helium is extracted from rock at a temperature of over 300 degrees. And then enrichment technologies kick in because the raw material contains not only Helium-3 but simply helium. You know the nature of helium – gigantic masses of substance erupt from the Sun, it is a gigantic thermo-nuclear furnace.
And in addition to helium there are many other things on the Moon: oxygen, carbon, and there are many new compounds contained on the surface of the Moon. They have accumulated there over billions of years of bombardment. There is no Helium-3 on Earth because it cannot get through the atmosphere, plus there is the magnetic field.
So, the figures are that soil has to be processed on an area of 200 square kilometers, and if that is done, we will meet Russia’s energy needs fully.
But it is a challenge. We do know that a lot more earth-moving work is done on Earth. But of course, there is also the question of heating it up. This is one of the most complicated issues, how to heat it up? By using solar energy?
We have found a solution to this problem. But for some reason, nobody doubts the transportation scheme. They say we know they can fly. But what can be the source of energy on the Moon itself?
Today Russia has developed thermonuclear reactors, there are some pilot models, using the thermo-emission principle. They are small, the size of a table and they generate energy and in the process heat the environment to more than 1,000 degrees.
We are developing such a system that will be installed in the machine that will extract Helium-3. Of course, at the initial stage, one cannot do without nuclear energy on the Moon. The question is how to make it compact. Oddly enough, Russia has such technologies today. We recently had a discussion with a Kazakhstan center which cooperates with our nuclear centers, such technologies exist. So, let me stress that in the last 40 years we somehow developed a lot of technologies that are capable of solving this task and delivering the result that the President of our country is speaking about.
What will be the result? We say that today we can use a higher degree of integration, and then investments not only by the state, but by the private sector would be justified. […]
Q: I have just one question. First, like all those present I bow to Boris Yevseyevich and all the other heroes of our country, Russia. And let me tell you that I too was around when Gagarin went into outer space and Afro-Asian Solidarity meeting in Bandung was interrupted. People spilled into the streets and rejoiced and looked at the speck of light floating in the evening sky.
And now for concrete question. I share the concern expressed by Boris Yevseyevich. But the meeting of the Indonesian-Russian intergovernmental commission which ended today gave priority to cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. An agreement to the effect is to be signed shortly. And in this connection, perhaps, Mr. Sevastyanov could tell me something about the Air Launch rocket segment which promises a lot of money to Indonesia and to us. when could it be implemented? And a question for Boris Yevseyevich. What do you think about the fate of Buran?
Chertok: As regards the Energia rocket and the spaceship Buran, these were perhaps, the most outstanding achievements not only of our space enterprise, but of all the related modern technologies in our country. Another such powerful and reliable rocket as Energia does not exist anywhere in the world. And I think our children will not forgive us for having scuttled Energia. It was a huge mistake.
True, the Americans, not for economic reasons, but out of sheer stupidity, I think, stopped using their own excellent super heavy rocket “Saturn-5”. So, both countries are guilty, that’s what I think.
As regards Buran, it also demonstrated the tremendous potential of our science and technology because nobody has achieved an automatic landing of an unmanned craft with an accuracy of within three meters. I don’t know how many years it will take to exceed that record.
So, it was a wonderful achievement of our science and technology and it was lost, let us face it, because of a criminal economic policy.
Linked from RuSpace news