US allocates $100 million for Russian rocket engine replacement

File image: RD-180 engine.

The US Senate Committee on Armed Services has approved a plan to allocate $100 million from the military budget for development of a rocket engine. According to the plan that was approved on May 22, the US should reduce its dependence on Russian producers and allow to put satellites in orbit, Reuters reports.

The matter concerns an engine, which will replace the RD-180. According to experts, the development may take five years and $1 billion, the Agency notes.

In early May, the US Court of Federal Claims obliged the United Launch Alliance Corporation (ULA), which places the Pentagon's satellites in circumterrestrial orbit, to abandon purchasing Russian-made rocket engines RD-180 produced by NPO Energomash. The Court's ruling has not touched previous contracts and procurements.

The court motivated its decision by the sanctions, which President Barack Obama had imposed against Russia, but complaints of anti-Russian politicians were not the reason for considering the situation, the reason was the claim of the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) company of Elon Musk, who expects to get billions worth defense orders.

Rocket engines are supplied to the USA by JV RD-Amros located in the city of Khimki, Moscow region, which Russian founder is NPO Energomash. In the period from 1997 to 2007, RD-Amros exported more than 40 engines to the USA. In 2013-2018, RD-Amros was meant to send to the Americans from four to six engines per year, ITAR-TASS wrote. Experts estimate the cost of an RD-180 at $11-15 million.

On May 8, the US lifted the ban on supplies of Russian rocket engine RD-180 and NK-33, the RT TV channel reported with reference to representatives of Roscosmos. In response, Vice-Premier of the Russian government, Dmitry Rogozin, announced introduction of restrictions on the use of rocket engines RD-180 aimed at launching military satellites provided to the US.

"We will proceed from the reality. We will not be able to continue to supply the RD-180 engines, if they are not used for civilian purposes in the US, and will not be able to continue routine maintenance of the already supplied engines in the territory of the USA," Rogozin said on May 13.

Source: Voice of Russia

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Industri Roket dan Rudal Indonesia Prancis

 

RBS 15 (photo: Roxel)

24/05/2014. Satu lagi kabar baik bagi Industri Pertahanan dalam negeri. ARC mendapat kabar, sudah ditandatanganinya MoU kerja sama pembangunan pabrik propelan antara PT.DAHANA dengan Roxel serta Eurenco dari Prancis. Pengumuman kerja sama itu sendiri akan diumumkan oleh Kementerian Pertahanan dalam waktu dekat.

Dalam kerjasama ini, semua pihak sepakat membangun pabrik propelan di kawasan Subang Jawa Barat. Pabrik seluas 50 hektar ini, nantinya dibangun di area PT. Dahana dan akan memakan waktu pembangunan selama 4 tahun. Diharapkan, ground breaking pertama pabrik propelan nasional akan berlangsung sebelum HUT TNI 5 oktober mendatang. Produk yang dihasilkan nantinya akan diserap oleh industri pertahanan, terutama bahan baku untuk membuat peluru, roket dan peluru kendali.

Rudal Anti-Kapal Permukaan SeaSkua (photo: Roxel)

Roxel sendiri merupakan penghasil propelan ternama asal Prancis. Hampir semua Roket dan Rudal buatan eropa barat menggunakan propelan buatan Roxel. Roxel juga dipercaya sebagai pembuat “boost dan sustain motors” berbagai roket: Exocet, Mistral, Rapier, Aster, VL Mica, VL Seawolf, Starstreak, Marte, Sea Skua, Otomat, RBS-15 dan banyak lagi.

GMLRS rocket firing from HIMARS (photo: Roxel)

Roxel juga pembuat dari booster peluru yang diluncurkan dari kapal selam Stromshadow, air to air Asraam, Magic 2, Anti-Tank Milan, PARS 3 dan berbagai jenis misil dan roket lainnya.

Kabarnya Roxel juga akan memasok propelan Munisi Kaliber Khusus untuk PT.Pindad

Aster 15 Surface to Air

Sementara Eurenco merupakan perusahaan yang mengembangkan, memproduksi dan menyediakan aneka ragam bahan energetik untuk pertahanan dan pasar komersial. Termasuk untuk bahan isian propelan dan hulu ledak meriam, hingga rudal anti tank.

Upaya kemandirian di bidang propelan ini sendiri merupakan salah satu program utama KKIP. Industri propelan merupakan salah satu industri strategis menuju kemandirian di bidang Roket serta Peluru Kendali. Sehingga cita cita Roket serta Rudal nasional kini semakin mendekati kenyataan. (sumber: ARC.web.id)

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Peristiwa Kelahiran Lapan

Lapan atau Lembaga Penerbangan dan Antariksa lahir pada tahun 1963. Ada tiga kronologi pembentukan Lapan yaitu Pada 31 Mei 1962 dibentuk panitia Astronautika oleh Menteri Pertama RI, IR. Djuanda selaku Ketua Dewan Penerbangan RI dan R.J. Salatun selaku Sekertaris Dewan Penerbangan RI. Yang kedua pada 22 September 1962 terbentuk Proyek Roket Ilmiah dan Militer Awal (PRIMA) Afiliasi AURI dan ITB. Dan terakhir 27 November diterbitkan Kepres Nomer 236 Tahun 1963 tentang Lapan.

Sputnik 1

Untuk dapat memahami kondisi terbentuknya Lapan, mari kita ke tahun 1957-1958 yg merupakan tahun Geofisika Internasional (International Geophysical Year atau IGY), dimana untuk pertama kali negara-negara sedunia melakukan penyelidikan lingkungan alam secara stimultan dan terkoordinasi. Hasilnya, pada tahun 1957 satelit pertama buatan manusia “Sputnik 1″ berhasil diorbitkan. Satelit Sputnik 1 dengan teknologi sederhana dan kemampuannya pun hanya memancarkan sinyal dengan frekuensi 20,005 dan 40,002 MHz.Sputnik dilontarkan dengan roket dua tingkat R-7 Semyorka Uni Soviet.

R-7 Semyorka

Kejadian tersebut merangsang imajinasi masyarakat dengan demam antariksa. Demam antariksa ditandai dengan timbulnya “gendrang peroketan” serta munculnya kelompok-kelompok bereksperimen salah satunya di Indonesia yaitu mahasiswa dan ABRI.

Sebagai tanggapan atas perkembangan zaman serta merintis aktifitas keantariksaan , pada tahun 1962 Ketua Dewan Penerbangan (alm) Ir. H. Djuanda membentuk Panitya Astronautika yg dusahkan pada 14 Desember dan aktif awal tahun 1963. Kepanitian ini terdiri dari para wakil departemen :

• AURI oleh Letkol Imam Sukotjo dan Mayor Kirono
• Perhubungan Udara oleh Ir. Karno Barkah dan Drs M. Sukanto
• Urusan Riset Nasional oleh Dr The Pik Sin
• Perguruan tinggi dan Ilmu pengetahuan oleh Prof Sutardi Mangundojo
• Dan Luar Negeri oleh Mr. Nugroho

Ada 5 tugas pokok yg diberikan termasuk mengejar ketertinggalan Indonesia di antara negara-negara berkembang lainnya dalam hal keantariksaan. Dan perlu diketahui dalam pembatasan-pembatasan di panitia Astronautika terungkap bahwa program IGY negara kita dimasukan dalam kategori “black area” atau daerah hitam. Sementara itu, beberapa negara berkembang seperti India, Pakistan dan Mesir sudah lebih dulu melangkah ke bidang antariksa seperti Mesir yg dibantu sarjana-sarjana Jerman dalam bidang roket balistik dan satelit .

Pada 22 September 1962 berdiri PRIMA (Pengembangan Roket Ilmiah dan Militer Awal) yg diisi afiliasi AURI dan ITB. Pembentukan PRIMA karena penundaan studi roket Kappa-8 buatan Jepang karena masalah di devisa ekspor. Akhirnya tim PRIMA mengembangkan secara swasembada dan berhasil  membuat Kartika I, roket dengan booster berdiameter 235 mm yg dikerjakan di oleh mesin extrusi milik Pindad. Pembiayaan PRIMA dibebankan pada anggaran belanja AURI. Untuk sistem telemetri Kartika I dikembangkan depot Elektronika AURI Margahayu.

Sementara Kartika I dikerjakan, sebagai pimpinan pertama Lapan adalah Dirjen Lapan Komodor Udara Nurtanio Pringgoadisurjo, Wakil Dirjen Letkol Imam Sukotjo, Wakil II Dirjen Ir. Karno Barkah, Wakil III Dirjen Dr Kusumanto Purbosiswojo dan Wakil IV Dirjen Prof Ir Suhakso.

Roket Kartika

Pembuatan Kartika I menghabiskan waktu selama 7 bulan dan pada 14 Agustus 1964 roket ini meluncur mulus dari Pameungpeuk. Dalam uji cobanya Kartika I hasilnya berhasil merekam siaran satelit cuaca Tiros milik Amerika. Menurut majalah Electronics terbitan Amerika, Indonesia adalah negara kedua setelah India yang berhasil merekam siaran Tiros dengan alat penerima buatan sendiri.

Hideo Itokawa with the Kappa-8L Rocket (1962)

Saat tim PRIMA sedang dibuat sibuk dalam pengerjaan roket Kartika I, upaya mendatangkan teknologi asing yakni Roket Kappa-8 makin menemukan titik kejelasan.  Hubungan baik dengan Prof Dr. Hideo Itokawa-Ilmuwan Jepang perancang pesawat tempur yg kemudian menjadi perintis peroketan Jepang kemudian direstui (alm) Ir. H. Djuanda.

Kappa-8 meluncur pada Agustus 1965 dengan mencapai ketinggian 364 km dan merupakan roket pertama di bumi Indonesia yg berhasil memasuki wilayah antariksa. Roket ini juga memberikan makna lain setelah data ilmiahnya disumbangkan kepada program International Quiet Sun Year (1964-1965).

Berikut adalah sejarah kelahiran Lapan, ada satu kiasan dari mantan Presiden India Abdul Karim (2002-2007) : “Bangsa yang besar adalah bangsa yang menguasai antariksa”. Visi Lapan yaitu Terwujudnya Kemandirian dalam Iptek Penerbangan dan Antariksa untuk meningkatkan Kualitas Kehidupan Bangsa. Jika nantinya Lapan berhasil mengorbitkan sendiri Satelit karya anak bangsa maka bangsa kita akan diperhitungkan dunia Internasional.

Perbedaan Anggaran Lapan dengan Malaysia dan India

Untuk itu diperlukan komitmen Nasional agar pengembangan ini bisa tercapai baik Pemerintah, Peneliti, Industri Strategis dan tentunya adalah masyarakat Indonesia. Saat ini sebagai penulis saya sangat sedih dengan kenyataan yg terjadi seperti adanya Political Will dalam pengembangan, anggaran yg tidak menunjukan komitmen dan kurangnya pengetahuan masyarakat kita tentang ilmu antariksa. Yuk kita berdoa, semoga para peneliti kita diberikan ketabahan untuk terus mengembangkan dan mengejar ketinggalan kita dan juga menjadikan negara kita sebagai bangsa yg diperhitungkan. Semoga Allah selalu memberikan kesehatan yg baik dan selalu menjaga peneliti kita, Amiieenn…

(Jalo and Friends)

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Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to Rockets

The Beginner's Guide to Rockets will help you learn the basic math and physics that govern the design and flight of rockets. We'll look at many different kinds of rockets, from stomp rockets, which are a special kind of artillery shell, to bottle rockets, tomodel rockets, to full scale boosters. We'll look at the similarities and the differences in these rockets and include some instructions for making and flying your own rockets.
At this Web site you can study how rockets operate at your own pace and to your own level of interest. There is a lot of mathematics at this web site, so we provide background pages on many mathematical topics. The flight of the rocket involves the interaction of forces, so we include background pages on the fundamentals of forces.  Aerodynamics plays a major role in the flight of toy rockets and in the generation of thrust for full scale rockets, so there are background pages devoted to basic aerodynamics . There are also background pages on thermodynamics and gas dynamics because of the role they play in rocket propulsion. Since we will be sending rockets to the Moon and Mars , we provide some background information on these destinations in addition to our home planet. The majority of the information at this web site is presented at a high school or early college level, although much of the information can also be used by middle school students and the general public. Information is provided for both students and teachers. The site includes materials that were developed over a ten year span by several different authors, so the pages do not all look the same.  We have added navigation buttons to ease movement across and within the work of a given author. Most of the pages are presented in the following format: a graphic at the top which the user can capture and incorporate into their own presentations or class notes; a text explaining the topic presented in the graphic and including many hyperlinks to related topics; navigation links at the bottom to related educational activities, closely related web pages, and an index of all the pages. Using the Index of Web Pages, you are never more than two clicks away from any other Web page at this site. Just click on the word "Index" at the bottom of any page, and then click to a new page from the index. We have intentionally organized this site to mirror the unstructured nature of the world wide web.  However, if you prefer a more structured approach, you can also take one of our Guided Tours through the site. Each tour provides a sequence of pages dealing with some type or aspect of rockets. Web pages that include Interactive Java applets are noted in the index. RocketModeler III, RocketThrust Simulator, and the AtmosModeler Simulator are provided to encourage students to explore science and math. The programs allow students to design and fly rockets on their personal computer and can be downloaded to operate off-line. AdditionalClassroom Activities are also available at this site. This site was prepared at the NASA Glenn Research Center in support of the Educational Programs Office and was funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Many of the pages at this site were prepared to support videoconferencing for teachers and students as provided by the Digital Learning Network. Much of the information available in the Rockets Educator's Guide publication is available on-line at this site. NOTICE --- We have made every effort to support Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Many of the pages contain mathematical equations that have been produced graphically and are too long or complex to provide in an "ALT" tag. For these pages, we have included the mathematical equations in the text portion of the web page. Many pages include Java applets which are not yet totally accessible for all interpretive software. We are continually monitoring efforts by SUN Microsystems (producers of Java) to make these applets more accessible, and will implement improved versions of the applets as the technology is made available.

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Russian Proton M fails to insert 3 GLONASS Satellites into Orbit

ILS Proton Breeze M is a heavy launch vehicle based on a former Russian “super ICBM” designed to carry a 100-megaton nuclear warhead over a distance of 13,000 km

A launch of three Russian Glonass navigation satellites failed today as the Proton M rocket failed immediately after liftoff, tumbled, veered off its trajectory, caught fire in midair and crashed near the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 

It seems that the first-stage engine was the cause for the accident. The launcher carried three Glonass M navigation satellites for the Russian Government. 

The satellites were riding on a Block DM upper stage. Those satellites were aimed to augment the Russian satellite based navigation system. A typical Proton Breeze M, provided by ILS, is a three-stage rocket with restartable upper stage, capable of lifting six tons of payload to geosynchronous transfer orbit. 

The launcher’s length is 58.2 m (191 ft) and its gross launch weight is 705 tons (1.554 million pounds).

An official message released by the Russian Space Agency following the disastrous crash said “a rocket carrier fell to the ground and exploded on the territory of the cosmodrome,” the space agency said in a statement, adding that the rocket fell on the territory of the Baikonur cosmodrome which Russia leases from ex-Soviet Kazakhstan. The agency said that during the accident, which took place 10-15 seconds after takeoff, toxic rocket fuel was released into the air but Kazakh officials said the fumes that may present a danger to the local population. 

The Propellants include Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4) and Unsymmetrical DiMethyl Hydrazine (UDMH). According to the head of the Kazakh space agency, Talgat Musabayev, the rocket carried 600 tonnes of kerosene, heptyl and amyl which are highly poisonous components of rocket fuel.

This accident brought to memory a rocket explosion at the Baikonur cosmodrome that occured in 1960, when the R-16 prototype rocket exploded on the launch pad, and released the highly poisonous rocket fuel known as the “devil’s venom.” 126 people were burned alive or vaporised altogether by the inferno, while others died of noxious fumes or succumbed to burns later. In recent years the Russian space program has suffered major setbacks, notably losing expensive satellites and an unmanned supply ship sent to the International Space Station.

The same Proton Breeze M launcher type recorded more failures in less than two years, which were attributed to various causes, a trend that has raised questions about the technical capability and workmanship of this satellite launcher.

Since the introduction of the Proton launcher 387 launches were recorded, 81 of them under ILS supporting commercial customers. ILS has maintained a healthy backlog which now equates to approx. 1.5 billion dollars for 15 missions. Over the past 6 years, Proton has launched an average of 10 times per year. Prior to the recent failure, three more missions were planned for July, August and the fourth quarter of 2013.

While ILS claims its rockets carry about a third of the global commercial payloads the program has also recorded major failures in recent years. In 2007, a Proton-M rocket carrying a Japanese communication satellite did not reach its orbit and crashed. On August 2011, a similar launcher failed to deliver a communications satellite into orbit and a year later, on August 6, 2012, a Protom M carrying two satellites again failed to reach orbit; A similar problem repeated four months later, December 9, 2012 as a Proton-Breeze M third stage failed to insert a payload into orbit.

Following these failures, a wide-spread review of the entire Breeze M upper stage was launched, and is expected to be completed by early to mid- 2014. “The purpose of this reliability study is to identify any weaknesses in the Breeze M design, manufacture and testing with the goal of increasing the demonstrated actual reliability to the calculated theoretical reliability” an ILS communique said during the recent Paris Airshow. Russian aerospace experts from qualified organizations are working with Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (KhSC) experts to analyze the various Breeze M systems, such as propulsion, avionics, telemetry and guidance. “We are paying particular attention to issues of quality control and this is not something of a singular effort, it is an ongoing program. All products have to come with the level of quality which is required to accomplish mission success,” Alexander Seliverstov, director general of KhSC said.

KhSC has also expanded purchasing and installation of new automated equipment and tooling that will ensure consistency and lower the chance of technician error in the production, assembly and test of Proton Breeze M. “In order to ensure that the operators and technicians assembling, testing and processing the Proton Breeze M are maintaining the highest level of training and certification, KhSC is establishing more stringent and frequent re-training and re-certification programs.” company officials said. Since Proton’s return to flight in March, ILS has had four consecutive successful launches over a four month period.

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