Orel

Orel (formerly named "PTK NP" (2009-2016 - PTK = promising transport ship), then PPPTS, and "Federation" (2016-2019)) is a prospective Russian reusable manned spacecraft being developed by RSC Energia named after S.P.Korolev. Eagle [the call sign of the first Apollo Lunar Module with Neil and Buzz, and earlier the call-sign for Gherman Titov in Vostok II] was supposed to replace the manned Soyuz and the unmanned Progress. It is supposed to deliver cargo and people beyond the Earth orbit, including to the Moon. Initially it was planned for six astronauts to be on board. By the end of 2022 the crew of the ship was reduced to up to four people. The payload weight is up to 500 kilograms. The Orel spacecraft is a key element of the Russian manned space program. That is why such attention is riveted to the development of the device.

The Russian Orel spacecraft is designed to deliver people and cargo to space stations in near-Earth orbit. This ship is one of the main elements of the existing concept of lunar exploration. The Eagle will be able to stay in autonomous flight mode for up to 30 days. The ship will be able to stay flying as part of an orbital station for up to a year. The presence of such a ship, in fact, can give the Russian Federation complete independence from its international "partners" and will make it possible to solve various problems, relying only on its technological solutions.

The Eagle can be called a conditional analogue of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, or Dragon V2, which has already been put into operation. At the same time, fundamentally new fully reusable space systems are being actively created in the United States.

After analyzing the materials of Roskosmos from the public procurement website, in May 2021 journalists found information about the characteristics of the ship. “The frequency of use of the return vehicle should be: when performing near-Earth flights as part of elements of the near-Earth orbital infrastructure with a duration of at least 356 days and flights to the Moon with a duration of no more than 30 days - ten flights; when performing a flight to the Moon and being part of the elements of the circumlunar orbital infrastructure with a duration of no more than 180 days - no more than three or four flights,” the published document said. The total service life of the Orel spacecraft, subject to full inter-flight maintenance, will be at least five years, for the return vehicle included in it - ten years.

By December 2019 the Orel manned spacecraft turned out to be two tons heavier than the norm specified in the document approved by Roscosmos, news agencies report, citing materials from RSC Energia (the developer and manufacturer of the spacecraft). “Exceeding the mass of a manned transport ship by 2.3 tons,” RIA Novosti reported. Almost all ship systems weigh more than necessary. For example, the weight of the cable network turned out to be 201 kilograms heavier, the life support system exceeded the norm by 109 kilograms, the propulsion system - by 107, the docking system - by 90.

According to the calculations of RSC Energia, the ship will weigh 22 tons 343 kilograms. The document, approved by Roskosmos, indicated the need to meet 19 tons 848 kilograms. The developers of the Angara rocket and the Yenisei super-heavy rocket, which will be used for flight tests of the ship and its flights to the Moon, are based on these parameters. In this regard, RSC Energia developed measures to reduce the mass of the ship from more than 22 tons to 21 tons 200 kilograms. Although the current overload of 2.3 tons, as noted in the materials of RSC Energia, does not interfere with flight tests of the ship on the Angara-A5P rocket. The carrying capacity of the carrier is enough to bring the "Eagle" into low Earth orbit.

On the basis of this ship, Roskosmos planned to create its lightweight version, called the Eaglet. It will be designed for two people. It is assumed that this version can be used for flights to the moon. It will inherit from the base version up to 90% of the details. The weight reduction by five tons was achieved by reducing the crew size to two cosmonauts and saving on life support systems.

As the head of Roskosmos reported in early 2022, Orlyonok can be launched using the promising Amur methane rocket. Its main feature will be the return stage. The preparation of a draft design of the first Russian reusable methane rocket "Amur-SPG" became known last year. The rocket is created with the expectation that it will be able to successfully compete in the world market. According to plans, a promising carrier will replace the Soyuz-2 family after 2026.

Ship development has a long history. RSC Energia has been conducting it since 2009. Initially, they wanted to launch the device using the new Rus-M rocket, but the project was closed in 2011. After that, as part of the tests, the spacecraft was “transplanted” several times to other promising carriers: from Angara to Soyuz-5 and back. Probably, the device can be launched using several types of missiles, depending on the tasks facing the ship.

Work on this project began back in 2009, and initially the first test launch of the spacecraft was scheduled for 2015, and regular flights were to begin in 2018. By December 2019 the first test launch of the Orel spacecraft was scheduled for 2023 and would be carried out on the Angara-A5P rocket from the Vostochny cosmodrome. An unmanned flight to the ISS is planned for 2024, and a manned flight to the ISS in 2025. Rocket and Space Corporation Energia had begun manufacturing the first two copies of the Orel spacecraft: a full-size mock-up for testing during the first launch on the Angara-A5P in 2023 and Yenisei in 2028, as well as a reusable spacecraft for flight tests and subsequent operation.

According to the head of the Russian space department Dmitry Rogozin on 19 December 2020, the first launch of the new Orel spacecraft should take place on December 15, 2023. The Angara rocket will act as a carrier. The ship will be launched in unmanned mode. The space department reported that the first unmanned flight of the Orel from the Vostochny cosmodrome was planned to be completed in 2023. A year later, a flight with docking to the ISS was to take place. The first manned launch of a spacecraft was scheduled for 2025.

Rogozin recalled that the Eagle is being created as a "lunar" ship designed for flights into deep space. Thus, it will not be possible to fully implement the project without a superheavy carrier. At the same time, the Eagle can be launched using the Angara rocket to the ISS, and in the future - to a promising Russian station known as ROSS. It, according to previously announced plans, can be created in the second half of the decade. From the program of the International Space Station Russia by that moment can leave.

According to the statement of the head of Roskosmos on 26 October 2021, Dmitry Rogozin, the timing of the tests of the Orel spacecraft may be revised. The reason is the lack of a super-heavy rocket. According to the head of the space department, Dmitry Rogozin, they want to carry out the first unmanned launch, as before, in 2023. “Another thing is that the tests of the ship can be extended in accordance with a more rational schedule, given that the regular rocket for the Orel ship is a super-heavy class rocket, and not the Angara,” he said.

The procedure for testing the Orel security system on Vostochny was finally approved. This was reported by TASS with reference to the Director General of Roskosmos Dmitry Rogozin 03 February 2022. Tests will begin in 2023 with testing of the emergency rescue system, including the procedure for firing, withdrawing and landing. Then they will conduct tests of the Orel rescue system when it is launched on the carrier. Also, according to Dmitry Rogozin, the return vehicle will be dropped from a helicopter four times, which will be part of the landing system tests. The first launch without astronauts on board was scheduled for 15 December 2023 from Vostochny. The tests will be carried out without docking with the ISS. In 2024, the ship will perform a second flight in unmanned mode, then they must dock with the station. Finally, the first manned launch of Orel was scheduled for 2025.

The head of Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said 22 February 2022 the Orel flight prototype will appear for tests in April 2024. Russia will not launch the Orel next-generation spacecraft in 2023. The new deadline is 2024. Testing of the flight instance will begin after the results of the test of the emergency rescue unit are received. Rogozin noted that in 2024 they planned to test the Orel with the shooting of the ship by the emergency rescue unit at the stage of operation of the first stage of the Angara-A5. Separation will occur at an altitude of 10-15 kilometers. During landing, the ship will work out a soft landing system. Angara-A5 for this stage of testing will be delivered to Vostochny in 2023. The standard rocket for the ship will be the upgraded Angara-A5M, which will receive more powerful engines and a lightweight design. The improved rocket will be ready by 2024.

The first launch of the promising Russian manned spacecraft Orel will take place in 2024, said Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Roscosmos, said 26 February 2022. Earlier it was reported that the unmanned flight of the ship from the Vostochny cosmodrome is scheduled for 2023. In 2024, an unmanned flight with docking to the International Space Station was expected , and in 2025, a manned flight to the station on a new ship. "As part of the flight tests of the Orel spacecraft in 2024, we will carry out the following stage of testing: the firing of the ship by the emergency rescue unit at the stage of operation of the first stage of the Angara-A5 rocket at an altitude of 10-15 kilometers at maximum velocity head. The ship will land with a test soft landing systems," Rogozin said in an interview with Russian Space magazine.

He explained that for this test in the summer of 2023, the Angara-A5 rocket will arrive at the Vostochny cosmodrome. The standard rocket for this ship will be the upgraded Angara-A5M with more powerful engines and a lightweight design.

"We will receive the upgraded Angara-A5M in 2024. In parallel, work will be carried out on the Orel. In April 2024, a flight copy of the ship will appear for testing, first in unmanned mode, and then in manned mode. We will proceed to these stages of testing , as soon as we get a positive test result of the ship's emergency rescue missile unit," Rogozin said.

The first launch of the Russian manned spacecraft Orel has again been “shifted to the right”, postponed from 2023 to 2025, Sergei Krikalev, executive director of the Roscosmos state corporation for manned programs, said, Interfax wrote 17 November 2022. “The planned launch year was actually 2023, that is, the next one, but according to the current situation, there will probably not be a launch of the ship before 2025,” Krikalev said during a meeting with students at the Voenmekh Baltic State Technical University. The transfer is connected “not so much with the ship, but with the creation of ground-based test facilities,” he noted.

It was previously expected that the tests of the Orel spacecraft would begin in 2023. In February 2022, at that time, the current head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, announced that the state corporation had decided on the test schedule for the aforementioned spacecraft. In 2023, it was planned to start testing the emergency rescue system at the launch complex, then proceed to testing the spacecraft rescue system during launch on the launch vehicle. The plans also called for four drops of the ship's reentry vehicle from a helicopter to test the landing system. In December last year, Rogozin announced that during the first test launch of the Angara launch vehicle from the Vostochny cosmodrome in December 2023, a mock-up of the new Orel spacecraft would be used as a payload, and not its finished version.

Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin Maxim Haralmov told TASS 04 December 2022 that two cosmonauts will be on board the promising Orel spacecraft when it goes on its first manned flight. It was noted that there is no talk of specific candidates yet. Kharlamov noted that all cosmonauts participate in the development of spacecraft systems, in scientific and technical councils, where development approaches and technical documentation are considered.

The first two flights of the prospective Orel transport spacecraft are scheduled for 2028. This was announced to TASS by Deputy General Designer of RSC Energia, Chief Designer of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) Vladimir Kozhevnikov at the Army-2023 International Military-Technical Forum. "In 2028 - the first unmanned flight, manned - also in 2028. That is, two flights in 2028: unmanned and manned," he said 15 August 2023.