 Lanzamiento de un cohete Proton-K | |
| Función | Vehículo de lanzamiento orbital |
|---|---|
| Fabricante | Producción Espacial Khrunichev State Research y y química Automática Oficina de Diseño |
| País de origen | Unión Soviética ; Rusia |
| Tamaño | |
| Altura | 53 metros (174 pies) |
| Diámetro | 7,4 metros (24 pies) |
| Masa | 693,81 toneladas (1,529,600 lb) (3 etapas) |
| Etapas |
|
| Capacidad | |
| Carga útil a LEO | |
| Masa | 23,700 kilogramos (52,200 lb) [1] |
| Carga útil a GTO | |
| Masa | 6.300 kilogramos (13.900 libras) [2] |
| Historial de lanzamiento | |
| Estado | Activo |
| Sitios de lanzamiento | Baikonur , LC-200 y LC-81 |
| Lanzamientos totales | 425
|
| Éxito (s) | 378
|
| Fracaso (s) | 34
|
| Fallas parciales | 13
|
| Primer vuelo | Protón: 16 de julio de 1965 Protón-K : 10 de marzo de 1967 Protón-M : 7 de abril de 2001 |
| Último vuelo | Protón: 6 de julio de 1966 Protón-K: 30 de marzo de 2012 Protón-M : 30 de julio de 2020 |
| Cargas útiles notables | |
| Primera etapa | |
| Motores | 6 RD-275 |
| Empuje | 10,470 kN (2,350,000 libras f ) |
| Quemar tiempo | 126 segundos |
| Combustible | N 2 O 4 / UDMH |
| Segunda etapa | |
| Motores | 3 RD-0210 y 1 RD-0211 |
| Empuje | 2,399 kN (539,000 lbf) [3] |
| Impulso específico | 327 segundos (3,21 km / s) |
| Quemar tiempo | 208 segundos |
| Combustible | N 2 O 4 / UDMH |
| Tercera etapa | |
| Motores | 1 RD-0212 |
| Empuje | 630 kN (140.000 libras) |
| Impulso específico | 325 segundos (3,19 km / s) |
| Quemar tiempo | 238 s |
| Combustible | N 2 O 4 / UDMH |
| Cuarta etapa - Blok-D / DM | |
| Motores | RD-58M |
| Empuje | 83,4 kN (18.700 libras · pie) |
| Impulso específico | 349 segundos (3,42 km / s) |
| Quemar tiempo | 770 s |
| Combustible | LOX / RP-1 |
Proton (ruso: Протон) (designación formal: UR-500 ) es un sistema de lanzamiento prescindible utilizado para lanzamientos espaciales comerciales y gubernamentales rusos. El primer cohete Proton se lanzó en 1965. Las versiones modernas del sistema de lanzamiento todavía están en uso a partir de 2020, lo que lo convierte en uno de los impulsores pesados más exitosos en la historia de los vuelos espaciales. Todos los protones se construyen en la fábrica del Centro Espacial de Producción e Investigación Estatal de Khrunichev en Moscú y en la Oficina de Diseño de Automatización Química [4] en Voronezh , se transportan al cosmódromo de Baikonur , se llevan a la plataforma de lanzamiento horizontalmente y se elevan a la posición vertical para su lanzamiento.[5] [6]
Al igual que con muchos cohetes soviéticos, los nombres de las cargas útiles recurrentes se asociaron con el propio vehículo de lanzamiento. El apodo de "Protón" se origina en una serie de satélites científicos con nombres similares , que se encontraban entre las primeras cargas útiles del cohete. Durante la Guerra Fría, las agencias de inteligencia occidentales lo designaron como D-1 / D-1e o SL-12 / SL-13 .
La capacidad de lanzamiento a la órbita terrestre baja es de aproximadamente 22,8 toneladas (50.000 libras). [7] La capacidad de transferencia geoestacionaria es de aproximadamente 6,3 toneladas (14.000 libras). [8] Los lanzamientos comerciales son comercializados por International Launch Services (ILS). [9] En 2013, el cohete debía retirarse antes de 2030. [10]
A partir de junio de 2018 [update], la producción del cohete Proton está cesando a medida que el nuevo vehículo de lanzamiento Angara entra en línea y entra en funcionamiento. No es probable que se firmen nuevos contratos de servicio de lanzamiento para Proton. [11]
Historia [ editar ]
Proton [12] comenzó su vida como un " misil balístico intercontinental súper pesado ". Fue diseñado para lanzar un arma termonuclear de 100 megatones (o más) a una distancia de 13.000 km. Era enormemente sobredimensionado para un misil balístico intercontinental y nunca se desplegó con tal capacidad. Finalmente se utilizó como vehículo de lanzamiento espacial . Fue una idea original de Vladimir Chelomei 's oficina de diseño como hoja a Sergei Korolev ' s N1 cohete, cuyo propósito era enviar una de dos hombres Zond spacecraft around the Moon; Korolev openly opposed Proton and Chelomei's other designs for their use of toxic propellants. The unusual appearance of the first stage results from the need to transport components by rail. The central oxidizer tank is the maximum width for the loading gauge of the track. The six tanks surrounding it carry fuel and serve as the attachment points for the engines. Despite resembling strap-on boosters, they are not designed to separate from the central oxidizer tank. The first and second stages are connected by a lattice structure. The second stage engine ignites shortly before separation of the first stage and the lattice allows the exhaust to escape.[13]
A rushed development program led to dozens of failures between 1965 and 1972. Proton did not complete its State Trials until 1977, at which point it was judged to have a higher than 90% reliability.
Proton's design was kept secret until 1986, with the public being only shown the upper stages in film clips and photographs, and the first time the complete vehicle was shown to the outside world happened during the televised launch of Mir.
Mass-production of guidance, navigation and control system for Proton has begun in 1964 on "Communard" Industrial Association (Kharkov, Ukraine).[14]
Proton launched the uncrewed Soviet circumlunar flights and was intended to have launched the first crewed Soviet circumlunar spaceflights, before the United States flew the Apollo 8 mission. Proton launched the Salyut space stations, the Mir core segment and expansion modules, and both the Zarya and Zvezda modules of the ISS.
Proton also launches commercial satellites, most of them being managed by International Launch Services. The first ILS Proton launch was on 9 April 1996 with the launch of the SES Astra 1F communications satellite.[15]
Between 1994 and mid-2010, Proton revenues were $4.3 billion, and were projected to grow to $6 billion by 2011.[16]
In January 2017, the Proton was temporarily grounded due to the manufacturer, Voronezh Mechanical Plant, having substituted a heat-resistant alloy in the engines with a cheaper metal.[17][18]
In June 2018, the state corporation Roscosmos announced that the Proton rocket would cease production as the new Angara launch vehicle comes on line and becomes operational. No new launch service contracts for Proton are likely to be signed.[11]
Proton flew its last scheduled commercial mission on 9 October 2019, delivering Eutelsat 5 West B and Mission Extension Vehicle-1 to geostationary orbit.[19] A number of Roscosmos and other Russian government missions remain on Proton launch manifest.
Proton 8K82K[edit]
The (GRAU index) 8K82K version is now usually called "Proton K". It is fuelled by very toxic unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide.[20] These are hypergolic fuels which ignite on contact, avoiding the need for an ignition system, and can be stored at ambient temperatures. This avoids the need for components that are tolerant of low temperatures, and allows the rocket to remain on the pad indefinitely (other launchers with such capability include the U.S. Titan II GLV, Titan III, and Titan IV, the Chinese Long March 2 and Long March 4, the Soviet/Ukrainian Tsyklon launchers, the Soviet/Russian Kosmos-3 and Kosmos-3M launchers and the European Ariane 1 to Ariane 4 launchers). In contrast, cryogenic fuels need periodic replenishment as they boil off.
The fourth stage has multiple variants, depending on the mission. The simplest, Blok D, was used for interplanetary missions. Blok D had no guidance module, depending on the probe to control flight. Three different Blok DM versions (DM, DM2, and DM-2M) were for high Earth orbits. The Blok D/DM were unusual in that the fuel was stored in a toroidal tank, around the engine and behind the oxidizer tank.
The initial Proton tests in 1965–66 only used the first two stages of the booster, the complete four-stage vehicle being flown for the first time in 1967. When the Soviet space station program began in 1971, Protons began being flown with the Blok D removed for use as a heavy-lift LEO launcher.
Proton-K payloads included all of the Soviet Union's Salyut space stations, almost all Mir modules (with the exception of the Docking Module, which was launched on the United States Space Shuttle), and the Zarya and Zvezda modules of the International Space Station. It was intended to launch the crewed TKS spacecraft, prior to the cancellation of that programme, although a few robotic flights of spacecraft were fulfilled. In addition it was intended to launch the 1970s LKS spaceplane that was never realised.[citation needed]
Proton-M[edit]
The initial version of Proton M, could launch 3–3.2 tonnes (6,600–7,100 lb) into geostationary orbit or 5.5 tonnes (12,000 lb) into a geostationary transfer orbit. It could place up to 22 tonnes (49,000 lb) in low Earth orbit with a 51.6-degree inclination, the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS).
The Proton M's improvements included lower stage modifications to reduce structural mass, increase thrust, and fully use propellants. Generally a Briz-M (Russian: Бриз meaning Breeze) storable propellant upper stage is used instead of the Blok D or Blok DM stage, removing the need for multiple fuel supplies and oxygen top-off due to boiling; the Proton-M also flew with a Blok-DM upper stage. Efforts were also made to reduce dependency on foreign (usually Ukrainian) component suppliers. With the Briz-M upper stage, the payload fairing diameter is 4.1 m (13.45 ft).[21]
Proton launch vehicles and Briz-M upper stages are designed and built by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (Khrunichev) in Moscow, the majority owner of International Launch Services (ILS). The Center is home to all engineering, assembly and test functions of Proton production. With the recent consolidation of the Russian space enterprises, Khrunichev has direct oversight and control of up to 70% of all Proton manufacturing from suppliers to manufacturers. The consolidation directly supports Khrunichev's ongoing efforts for vertical integration of Proton production.[22]
An enhanced variant, the Phase III Proton-M/Briz-M launch vehicle, was flight proven on the Russian Federal dual mission of Express AM-44 and Express MD-1 in February 2009 and performed its first commercial launch in March 2010 with the Echostar XIV satellite. The Proton-M/Briz-M phase III configuration provides 6150 kg of GTO performance, an increase of 1150 kg over the original Proton-M Briz-M, while maintaining the fundamental design configuration.
On 6 August 2012, the Russian Federal Space Agency lost a Russian and an Indonesian communications satellite in an attempt to launch them into orbit on a Proton-M due to technical difficulties with the last stage.[23] On 2 July 2013, a Proton-M launching three GLONASS navigation satellites experienced a failure reminiscent of the 1960s disasters shortly after liftoff when the booster crashed near LC-39 at Baikonour, ending a 30-year unbroken stretch without a first stage failure; all future Proton flights were suspended pending investigation.[24] The accident was eventually determined to be caused by the rate gyro package having been installed upside-down. Due to the difficulty of installing the package incorrectly, it was widely suspected that it had been done deliberately by a disgruntled or drunk worker at the Khrunichev plant.
On 15 May 2014, a Proton-M/Briz-M carrying an Ekspress satellite suffered a third stage failure from a bad turbopump bearing. Debris fell in Manchuria. On 21 October, another Ekspress satellite was left in a useless orbit when the Briz stage cut off 24 seconds too early.
On 16 May 2015, a MEXSAT communications satellite failed to orbit due to another third stage malfunction, the eighth Proton failure since 2010.
Khrunichev has initiated development of a set of phase IV enhancements in order to keep pace with market demands and the mass growth trends of commercial satellites. The implementation of Phase IV Proton Briz-M enhancements were completed in 2016. The payload mass performance for phase IV has been increased to 6320 kg to a reference GTO orbit with 1500 m/s of residual delta V to GSO.[25]
Launches[edit]
Future developments[edit]
Significant upgrades were temporarily put on hold following announcement (in 1992) of the new Angara launch vehicle.[citation needed] The single largest upgrade[when?] was the KVRB stage. This cryogenic stage would have greatly increased capacity. The engine was developed successfully, and the stage as a whole had progressed to hardware. However, as KVRB is noticeably larger than Block D, the vehicle's aerodynamics, flight control, software, and possibly electronics would have to be reevaluated. In addition, the launch pad can supply existing Protons with common hypergolic fuels from single sources. The upper stages, in particular, are fed by common loading pipes running along the rocket. Switching to a stage with different fuels requires the addition of extra support articles; switching to cryogens requires that such support articles top off the stage periodically.[citation needed]
Heavy variants of Angara will be simpler and cheaper than Proton (and like the Atlas V rocket, will not use hypergolic fuels; instead, it will use the same RP-1 fuel as that used on the Soyuz rocket). They will also be designed from the start to accept a KVTK stage, and will already have a LOX supply at the pad; only a hydrogen supply will be called upon.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
- Comparison of orbital launchers families
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
Similar launch systems[edit]
- Delta IV Heavy
- Atlas V Heavy
- Ariane 5
- Long March 5
- Angara A5
- Falcon 9
- H-IIB
- Saturn I and IB
- Heavy-lift launch vehicle
References[edit]
- ^ Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center - Proton-M rocket // russianforces.org
- ^ Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center - Proton-M rocket // russianforces.org
- ^ "Proton 8K82K". www.friends-partners.org. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ http://www.kbkha.ru/?p=8&cat=8&prod=33
- ^ "Proton Mission Planner's Guide". International Launch Services.
- ^ "Proton Verticalization, Pad 39, Baikonur". flickr. 5 September 2005.
- ^ http://www.khrunichev.ru/main.php?id=54
- ^ Clark, Stephen (9 June 2016). "Upgraded Proton booster adds satellite to Intelsat's fleet". Spaceflightnow.com.
- ^ "Commercial Launch Heritage". International Launch Services.
- ^ "Russian rocket development in the 2010s". Anatoly Zak.
- ^ a b Berger, Eric (25 June 2018). "Russia's Proton rocket, which predates Apollo, will finally stop flying Technical problems, rise of SpaceX are contributing factors". arsTechica. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
...failures have followed in recent years. These problems, combined with the rapid rise of low-cost alternatives such as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, have caused the number of Proton launches in a given year to dwindle from eight or so to just one or two.
- ^ "Proton Heritage". International Launch Services.
- ^ The first stage of the Proton rocket at Russian Space Web
- ^ "History of SSIA "Communard"".
- ^ "Proton Launch Archives | International Launch Services". ilslaunch.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ Statement by Vladimir Ye. Nesterov, Khrunichev Director-General, at Press Conference on 15 July 2010 Khruhichev 29 July 2010.
- ^ "Russia's Proton rocket grounded by poor quality control". www.planetary.org. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Russia's Proton Rocket faces extended Grounding due to systemic Engine Problems". spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ^ http://russianspaceweb.com/eutelsat5wb-mev1.html
- ^ "Commercial Launch Vehicle | ILS Proton Breeze M | International Launch Services". ilslaunch.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Proton Breeze M – ILS". www.ilslaunch.com. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ "Experience ILS: Achieve Your Mission" (PDF). 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "News from around the world". latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Russia's Proton crashes with a trio of navigation satellites". Russian Space Web. 2 July 2013.
- ^ "Commercial Launch Heritage | Proton Rocket | International Launch Services". ilslaunch.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
External links[edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Proton (Rocket) (category) |
- Proton at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- Proton launches page on LyngSat
- Proton rocket specifications sheet
- Proton M Debuts With Successful Ekran Launch on April 7, 2001
- Proton 8K82K / Briz-M. Astronautix.
- FAS – Proton Launch Vehicle
- ILS Proton
- Proton launch schedules on Satlaunch
- Слабое звено – "Бриз-М"
