MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin.) The Kazakh government and Moscow's Institute of Heat Engineering have signed a contract for developing the Ishim space system that would launch small low-orbit civilian satellites.
The institute has already gained a reputation for its Topol-M new-generation silo-based and mobile inter-continental ballistic missiles and the Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Incidentally, the Bulava missile was tested successfully on New Year's Eve.
At present, the institute and the Mikoyan-Gurevich aircraft design bureau, which have tackled relatively few civilian projects before, will jointly develop the Ishim system.
Kazakhstan received several dozen MiG-31 Foxhound fighters after the Soviet Union's disintegration. The Military Balance estimates their total number at 43. There are plans to use these planes for orbiting relatively small satellites. Astana also wields 16 MiG-25 Foxbat fighters, which are the MiG-31's predecessors. Each MiG-31 weights nearly 50 tons. Still it takes a lot of time and effort to maintain this relatively inactive warplane fleet, whereas Kazakhstan can defend its air space with the help of other military aircraft. Republican leaders would now like to use their MiG-31 planes for implementing various space programs.
Many countries now offer state-of-the-art technologies making it possible to produce small satellites weighing up to several hundred kilograms. Consequently, these spacecraft can replace their heavier equivalents with a weight between 500 and 3,000 kg. The new satellites can ensure the operation of ground-based meteorological and information systems, as well as those of remote sensing satellites. Moreover, these technological marvels can predict tropical cyclones, ozone anomalies and monitor air pollution and green-house effects. And, finally, such systems pinpoint forest fires, facilitate safe navigation and keep an eye on oil and gas pipelines. Russian and foreign schools and universities can use them for distance education, as well as applied and fundamental research.
It would be more effective and cheaper to launch these "portable" satellites aboard modern fighters because the launch of every heavy-duty rocket costs up to several hundred million dollars. Such rockets require specially equipped centers, which are also quite expensive.
Scientists and designers believe that conventional airfields and high-speed planes are enough for orbiting tiny satellites.
Let's talk about the entire launch sequence. A fighter would go hypersonic and take a 10-ton rocket and its payload (one or several spacecraft) to an altitude of 15-20 km. The rocket's engines would then be activated, giving it an initial speed of over 2,000 km/h. A three-stage or four-stage solid-propellant rocket attains this after its first stage is jettisoned. This speed is enough to take the rocket into space.
The MiG-31 fighter is best suited for the job. It has a maximum take-off weight of nearly 50 tons, a 20-km static ceiling and a top speed of some 3,000 km/h (depending on flight loads and modes). However, the MiG-31's zoom altitude is even more impressive. In fact, this warplane can take off and orbit satellites in just about any part of the world. This spells substantial science-practical and commercial benefits.
However, the MiG design bureau, which developed this aircraft, must now upgrade it in line with the Ishim program. A special solid-propellant rocket capable of attaining cosmic speeds must also be developed. This rocket must also carry the required number of tiny satellites. The institute, which has already developed similar rockets, is now implementing this project. The new rocket will resemble a scaled-down Start-1 launch vehicle with new engines. But institute designers believe that any new invention does not resemble its forerunner.
"We are developing the Ishim vehicle right on schedule," deputy general designer of the institute Lev Solomonov said. Revamped MiG-31 fighters will be readied for tests by 2007. And the rocket will also make its appearance by that time. Various geophysical, weather, environmental and information micro-satellites will subsequently orbit the Earth at different inclinations.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev fully supports this project, which was displayed at the Almaty innovation exhibition. Surrey Center of Great Britain, Israel Aircraft Industry and Rafael of Israel, and Finmeccanica of Italy are all interested in the Ishim space system. The Kazakh government continues to negotiate with other foreign companies interested in relatively cheap and cost-effective space exploration. These companies would like to launch low-orbit civilian satellites. The Russian-Kazakh Ishim program is gradually turning into an international co-production arrangement.
Its popularity implies that low-orbit aerospace systems may assert themselves within the next 10-15 years. They will launch small spacecraft, in the first place. This is really good news because man can only travel into space aboard heavy-duty rockets today.
