Progress and Milestones for Soyuz-5 Development

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Earlier updates indicated that all work on producing the PH Soyuz-5 was progressing on schedule. What has been accomplished so far, and what lies ahead in the near term?

In early June this year, specialists from JSC TsNIIMash and JSC RCC Progress, part of Roscosmos, successfully completed static tests on fuel tank prototypes for the first stage of the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle bench block. The tests confirmed the static strength of the power ring around the bench block and the lower section of the first-stage fuel tank, which is designed to endure cold and fire testing during development.

At the moment, RCC Progress has three friction stir welding units installed at its production site. The first unit is already in operation, and more than twenty shells have been welded using this equipment. These shells feature three-layer structures with aluminum filling and a carbon fiber reinforced polymer coating to protect the payload during atmospheric flight and at ground operations. Ground tests for Soyuz-5 use 1580 alloy, with plans to manufacture more than 30 shells by year-end 2022. Earlier reports indicated that Cheboksary-based Sespel installed the welding facilities at Progress RCC, enabling welding of boards with thicknesses around 30 mm. This process is expected to ensure high-quality, one-pass welds that strengthen the tanks for the new vehicle.

Regarding the material choice, the Soyuz-5 tanks use 1580 aluminum alloy for the first time. This alloy offers improved mechanical properties at a reasonable cost compared with the material used for the Soyuz-2. The adoption of 1580 is expected to raise the payload mass that can be delivered to orbit by several hundred kilograms.

There were earlier statements about introducing a belt-inertial unit featuring precision elements built around small, lightweight fiber optic gyroscopes for the new rocket. This is indeed a notable upgrade. The belt-inertial unit relies on fiber optic gyroscopes, devices that measure orientation changes of the carrier relative to an inertial reference frame. The BIB device is mounted at the starting point of the inertial coordinate system and maintains this reference frame in space throughout the flight. It also provides the control system with information about the rocket’s pitch, yaw, and roll, which are essential for accurate flight path tracking and preventing deviations from the intended course.

The advantages of the belt-inertial unit include compact size and light weight, low energy consumption, and the absence of moving mechanical parts that are hard to manufacture. These benefits translate into better overall efficiency and reliability for guidance during ascent.

There has been confirmation that the Soyuz-5 was designed to launch from a pad previously used for Zenit rockets. This setup enables automatic operation from start to finish without manual ground handling. It also reduces the number of connections between ground equipment and the rocket, simplifying the onboard electrical network and decreasing the need for complex grounding and transceiver changes.

On the topic of safety, the Soyuz-5 incorporates an emergency protection system for the engines. Design work on this system is nearing completion, and prototype devices are being built by NPO Avtomatika JSC in Yekaterinburg, a subsidiary of RCC Progress. Autonomous tests of the devices are under way. Two testing approaches are planned: one set of tests will occur during fire testing of the RD171MV and RD0124MS engines at designated facilities, and another set will occur during firing tests of the first and second blocks of the Soyuz-5 stage at the Rocket and Space Industry Research and Test Center. The aim is to validate the system’s performance under real engine conditions.

In response to inquiries about the engine protection scheme, it is confirmed that this emergency system (SAZ D) will be used for the first time on the RD171MV and RD0124MS engines. The system will operate across the entire engine burn, controlled by three onboard computers—one on the first stage and two on the second stage—working with advanced algorithms developed by engine developers. This configuration ensures continuous protection throughout flight and helps prevent adverse engine behavior from compromising the mission.

Regarding logistics, the Soyuz-5 is planned to be transported to the Baikonur Cosmodrome by rail. Initial design studies examined rail transport options. A key feature is the use of a low three-car coupling to accommodate the vehicle’s length. Given its size, the rocket will be shipped in protective covers rather than standard containers. The first stage exceeds the length of a typical rail car, so a specialized coupler designed by the Transport Engineering Central Design Bureau is used. The arrangement allows the entire first stage to be transported in a single rail shipment, simplifying handling and reducing on-site assembly requirements.

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