President of Energia Space Rocket Corp. Nikolay Sevastyanov
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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Heavy-Duty Booster Rockets Will Be in Demand
Super-heavy booster rockets of the same type as the unique Energia, which carried the Soviet Buran shuttle into orbit, will be needed in the near future, says Nikolay Sevastyanov, head of the Energia space rocket corporation.
“A few years will pass, and super-heavy booster rockets operating, on ecologically pure fuel components, will certainly be in demand to carry industrial objects into orbit. They can also be used to implement Moon and Mars programs,” Sevastyanov said. Energia, he added, could create such a rocket, given the necessary funding.
Sevastyanov was speaking on the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Energia from the Baikonur cosmodrome. The liftoff weight of the rocket was 2400 tons, with a 100-ton cargo capacity for orbiting Earth. The Energia was fueled by liquid oxygen and kerosene. The central rocket block was fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. It was 59 meters long, with a maximum width of 16 meters.
The rocket was made as part of the Soviet Energia-Buran program. Its second launch took place on November 15, 1988, with a multiuse unpiloted Buran shuttle. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the program was discontinued.
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