The opening of the renovated Cosmos Pavilion (No. 32-34) at VDNKh was timed to coincide with Cosmonautics Day. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Russian Federation.

The largest exposition museum, the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center, began its work in the pavilion. Inside, it was possible to restore the original mosaics on the walls. A five-pointed star chandelier (a copy of the star of the Trinity Tower of the Moscow Kremlin) is mounted under the dome. About 1500 specialists participated in the reconstruction process.

History of the pavilion "Cosmos"

At the first Exhibition of Achievements National economy The pavilion was called "Mechanization". His task was to show progress in the development of agricultural technology. Tractors, combine harvesters, plows, etc. were demonstrated on two floors of the hangar. 15 years later, the number of exhibits has noticeably increased. The name of the site was changed to “Mechanization and electrification Agriculture". In the 1960s, the theme of the exposition changed. A new direction "Cosmos" opens.

In the early 1990s, the Cosmos Pavilion was going through a period of oblivion. Educational sites are being abolished, and stalls with goods for gardeners appear in their place. In 2017, the situation is changing in better side. The municipality of the city of Moscow is starting restoration work to restore the space exhibition. The work took a little over a year. Already in 2018, the Center "Cosmonautics and Aviation" began to receive the first guests.

The new Center has become popular with Muscovites and guests of the city. Adults and children will be able to satisfy their curiosity in the museum.

exposition

The Cosmonautics and Aviation Center houses one of the largest expositions dedicated to the history of Russian cosmonautics. Everything, starting with the idea of ​​space exploration. Guests of the pavilion can see giant models spaceships and military-industrial technology. There are over 120 units.

It is also possible to take a tour of our galaxy and get acquainted with two thousand rare samples of photo, video materials, documents related to space program development projects. The exhibition space is divided into: "Space Boulevard-1", "Design Bureau-2" and "Cosmodrome of the Future-3".

In "KB-1. Space Boulevard" presents the most large-scale exhibits of the pavilion: models of the orbital stations "Mir" and "Almaz", rocket engine RD-170, N-1 launch vehicle, GLONASS-K, Express-1000, Soyuz spacecraft, Luna-17 lunar rover and much more.

Layout weight orbital station"Mir" more than 30 tons.

Zone "KB-2. Design Bureau” is more like a scientific laboratory. Visitors will be able to learn about research and development in space medicine and biology. A separate place is occupied by the project "People in Space". He tells about the exploits of the first astronauts.

In the zone "KB-3. The Cosmodrome of the Future” is available for visiting the 5D-cinema “Space Sphere”. It shows themed films. Flight simulators are also installed under the dome, with the help of which you can visit distant planets and stars.

The Center is also engaged in educational activities. For this, children's and youth research circles work within its walls.

Excursions

Sightseeing tours are organized at the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center from Tuesday to Sunday. They are held every hour from 11:30 to 20:30 without prior appointment. The tour lasts about 1 hour. Tickets can only be purchased at the box office of the Cosmos pavilion. The entrance ticket is bought separately.

Opening hours of the pavilion "Cosmos"

The Cosmonautics and Aviation Center at VDNKh is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00-22:00, Monday is a technical day. Entrance to the pavilion only by sessions: 11:00-13:00; 13:00-15:00; 15:00-17:00; 17:00-19:00; 19:00-21:00.

Prices for tickets to the Cosmos pavilion at VDNKh

Entrance ticket: 500 rubles, preferential - 250 rubles.

Sightseeing tour: 300 rubles, preferential - 200 rubles.

A discount ticket is issued upon presentation of the necessary certifying documents at the box office of the pavilion. Tickets are sold at the box office of the pavilion and on the Center's official website.

How to get to the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center

The Cosmonautics and Aviation Center is located in pavilions No. 32-34 Cosmos at VDNKh. The distance from the Main Entrance to it can be walked in about 15 minutes. You need to move straight along the Central Alley to the model of the Vostok rocket. You can also use bus number 533. You can get to VDNKh by public transport or taxi.

Public transport

Metro: VDNH station of the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya line (orange line). The way from the center of Moscow to VDNKh can be overcome in 20 minutes. You can transfer to the line from the Ring, Sokolnicheskaya, Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya, Zamoskvoretskaya branches.

Buses: M9, T13, 15, 33, 56, 76, 85, 93, 136, 154, 172, 195, 244, 266, 311, 378, 379, 496, 544, 834, 803, 903, H6.

Bus on the territory of VDNKh: No. 533, to the stop "Wedding Palace".

Monorail: stops "Exhibition Center" and "Sergey Eisenstein Street".

Trolleybuses: No. 14, 36, 73, 76.

Trams: 11, 17, 25.

Taxi

You can get to VDNKh by taxi using the applications: Yandex. Taxi, Uber, Gett, Maxim.

Today you won’t surprise anyone with Shuttles. But few people know that the first " space planes were created almost forty years ago. Comprehensive research The possibilities of creating an orbital aircraft capable of launching and landing like an ordinary aircraft were launched back in 1965.

MiG-105-11 / Photo: www.flickr.com

Korolev and Tupolev took part in them, and the spaceplane itself was planned to be built by the MiG Design Bureau. The project was officially launched on June 26, 1966. At the same time, they began to form a special group of cosmonauts who were to lift the spacecraft into the air. Ten years later - in October 1976 - a new aircraft, called "EPOS" (Experimental Passenger Orbital Aircraft) took to the air for the first time.

True, he took off low - only 560 meters, and so, "low-low", flew 19 kilometers - to the airfield of the test center. Zhukovsky.

A year later, on November 27, 1977, the MiG-105-11 (as EPOS has now become known) made the first "air" launch - the spaceplane was raised to a height of 5000 meters using the Tu-95K. After a successful flight, the MiG-105, as part of the experiment, landed on an earthen runway (without a special coating).

The eighth flight of the spaceplane (in September 1978) turned out to be the last: an accident occurred during the landing, the device was severely damaged and was written off. Since by that time the country's leadership had decided to create heavier, multi-seat reusable spacecraft (the future Buranov), the MiG-105-11 did not go into mass production.

The project was closed, but the prototype was generally recognized as very successful, so many of its constructive and technological solutions subsequently used in the development of the next generation of "space shuttles".

MiG-105-11 had a characteristic silhouette / Photo: www.buran.ru

MiG-105-11 on trials / Photo: www.buran.ru

The MiG-105-11 had a distinctive silhouette, with a snub-nosed nose and a flat body at the bottom, for which it received the nickname "Lapot". This form, according to the designers, was to significantly reduce the load on the hull during re-entry into the atmosphere. A unique feature of the aircraft was the "flapping" wings: during takeoff, while in orbit and re-entry into the atmosphere, they could rise up to 60 degrees above the horizon, working as vertical rudders.

When switching to subsonic speed, the wings were set to the usual, horizontal position, contributing to an increase in lift. The apparatus was controlled using a vertical rudder, ailerons at the ends of the "flapping" wings and air nozzles located in the upper part of the fuselage, closer to the tail.

MiG-105-11 in an open parking lot / Photo: www.buran.ru

MiG-105-11 in the parking lot in Monino / Photo: www.buran.ru

During the flight, the astronaut was in a sealed compartment-capsule, which, in the event of a danger or an accident of the apparatus, could be “shot off”. If this happened within the earth's atmosphere, then the compartment, along with the pilot, had a chance to land softly using a parachute system. If trouble happened in orbit, then there was practically no hope for salvation.

The Mig-105-11 launch engine was supposed to use Vostok-type missiles. The own propulsion system of the spaceplane consisted of a turbojet engine RD-36-35-K, weighing 2.3 tons. The fuel reserve for it was 500 kg, which provided 10 minutes of flight at maximum thrust.

Usually this engine was used when starting "from the wheels", including from field runways (without special coating).

Structural and technological division of the airframe of the analogue aircraft "105.11" / Photo: www.buran.ru

In the photo, the numbers indicate:

1. forward fuselage
2. left front landing gear
3. right front landing gear
4. chassis guards
5. aft fuselage
6. right wing console
7. left wing console
8. wing fairings
9. keel with rudder
10. rear right landing gear
11. rear left landing gear
12. heat shield
13. head joint braces
14. aft fuselage

The "ordinary" engine was also supposed to provide the spacecraft with freedom of maneuver when returning, for example, to fly to an alternate airfield if the weather deteriorated in the area of ​​the main one, etc. Interestingly, at first it was planned to install such engines on the Shuttles, but, in the end, the American designers decided to abandon them in order to reduce the weight of the shuttles.

The orbital engine consisted of the main one (with a thrust of 1500 kgf) and two auxiliary ones (40 kgf each). In addition to them, the MiG-105-11 had six engines for course corrections (16 kgf each) and ten engines for maneuvering (1 kgf each). fuel tanks for these engines were located in the central part of the aircraft.

It is admirable that so much complex and smart technology was “packed” into a fairly modest-sized case - 8.5 meters long and a maximum width of 2.8 meters. So far, not all the secrets of the project, which was carried out almost forty years ago, have been revealed.

So, for example, despite its "passenger" abbreviation (EPOS), it is known that the MiG-105-11 was considered as a prototype space fighter. What kind of weapons he had to carry and whom to attack - aircraft and artificial satellites of the enemy, or, perhaps, his ground facilities - remains a mystery ...

Scheme MiG-105-11 / Photo: www.buran.ru

Basic tactical characteristics

Dreaming, as they say, is not harmful, and sometimes even useful. Flying on wings into space back and forth is exactly the area where dream and reality touch so closely that, at times, truly amazing projects are born.

Ideas for creating cosmopolans arose long before Yu. Gagarin's flight. A distant allusion to the spacecraft can be considered the American test aircraft Bell X-1, equipped with a rocket engine, which was the first in the world to overcome sound barrier. This brought the person one step closer to the cherished goal. It is on supersonic aircraft that he places his hopes space aviation.

In the USSR, the creation of an air-orbital aircraft began in the 60s of the last century. This is how the Spiral project appeared, which involved the construction of a two-stage system.

space aviation

The second stage of the Spiral complex is an orbital plane. The design assumed that it would run on fluorine-ammonia fuel, which would allow the aircraft to change its angle in flight, depending on the task. But the Spiral project was closed. The Soviet leadership decided to switch to an analogue of the American shuttle, called the Buran: unfortunately, this did not end well.

The US Department of Defense is currently working on an experimental space drone, with a first flight scheduled for 2017. XS-1 (the letter X in the name of American aircraft indicates that the project is related to space aviation) should be capable of independent flights, as well as the launch of satellites into Earth orbit.

Another representative of the American space, so to speak, aviation in the project is a small research aircraft environment, abbreviated as ARES (for Aerial Regional-Scale Environment Surveyor). True, it is not quite cosmic, but it is the most distant of all. With it, the Americans are going to fly far beyond the orbital limits. ARES is aimed, as it should be (with such and such a name) at Mars. Of course, he will be taken there to help in the study of the red planet. According to scientists, a small aircraft of this type is needed for many tasks that rovers cannot yet perform.

space aviation

The border with space also attracts private amateur pilots. Not surprising: experimental aviation Today it is available to everyone who has the time, money and, most importantly, enthusiasm for this. Then projects like Perlan II are born. The idea of ​​the former NASA test pilot is to lift the glider to a record height of 27 kilometers, practically on the edge of open space. The confidence of the founders is based on a vast experience in the study of vertical stratospheric flows that form over mountainous terrain. It is with their help that the Perlan II team is going to raise their ship. Unexpectedly, the Airbus company turned its attention to the project, which decided to provide it with financial and technical assistance.

Center "Cosmonautics and Aviation" - largest space museum center in modern Russia, located within the walls of the historical pavilion "Cosmos" on.

The exposition of the museum includes a large number of exhibits demonstrating the achievements of Russian cosmonautics: from archival documents to layouts spacecraft made in natural size. It was created to popularize the achievements of the domestic rocket and space, aviation and defense industry and implemented as a joint project of the Moscow government, VDNKh, the state corporation "Roscosmos" and a number of enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Russia. The building of the legendary pavilion, built in the Soviet years, has also become a kind of exhibit.

With an extensive and interestingly presented collection, the Aviation and Cosmonautics Center at VDNKh has become one of the iconic space points on the map of Moscow - and a powerful tourist attraction.

exposition

The large-scale exposition of the museum is dedicated to the achievements of Russian cosmonautics and promising space exploration projects. The space of the pavilion is conditionally divided into 3 parts: "KB-1. Space Boulevard" (museum and exhibition space), "KB-2. Design Bureau" (educational and scientific space) and "KB-3. Cosmodrome of the Future" (interactive and leisure space), thanks to which the exposition is revealed in stages, from the first ideas of the conquest of space to the most modern developments.

Acquaintance with the exhibits is possible both individually and with a guided tour.

In "KB-1" you can see full-scale exhibits and full-size models of spacecraft and vehicles that demonstrate the implemented projects of the 20th century and the successes achieved by domestic cosmonautics. The exposition presents over 120 unique samples of aircraft and space technology that have never been exhibited in the museum space before, as well as a large number of archival documents, photo and video materials. The most large-scale exhibit was a mock-up of the Mir orbital station, made in full size (1:1, the weight of the mock-up is more than 30 tons) and includes 4 modules (Mir, Kvant-1, Kvant-2 and Kristall "). Here you can also see models of the Sputnik-1 (1:1) and Luch-5A (1:1) satellites, the Lunokhod-1 planetary rover and the Luna-17 station (1:1), the MAKS orbital plane , BOR-4 rocket plane, RD-170 liquid-propellant rocket engine, compact models of spaceports and rockets, as well as various details space vehicles. The exposition is interactive: museum visitors can not only watch photos and videos, but also play themed games on the displays placed around the hall.

"KB-2" is an educational space where children's educational and youth experimental centers are located, as well as sections "Space industry and infrastructure", "Exploration of the Earth from space", "Exploration of the planets of the solar system", "Space medicine and biology" and others . Here, museum visitors can get an idea of ​​what tasks and projects are the priorities of the modern space industry.

"KB-3" is an interactive space, a zone of virtual reality, presenting to visitors the image of a space civilization and the prospects for astronautics in the distant future. The center of the space was a two-level exposition module "Monolith", around and inside which interactive exhibits and activities were placed: game simulators, a talking robot and a 5D cinema "Space Sphere", where you can watch a rocket launch or a view of the Earth from space.

The peculiarity of the exposition is its interactivity: throughout the pavilion there are displays with thematic video and audio recordings, visual diagrams of the structure of spacecraft, various games suitable for children and adults.

Pavilion "Cosmos"

Pavilion No. 32-34 "Cosmos" ("Cosmos / Mechanical Engineering") is one of the legendary pavilions of VDNKh, which has been derelict for a long time.

The building was built in 1939 according to the project of architects Ivan Taranov, Viktor Andreev and Nadezhda Bykova - initially the pavilion was called "Mechanization" and was dedicated to agricultural machinery. Later, its exposition expanded, and it began to bear the name "Mechanization and electrification of agriculture"; in 1954 the pavilion was reconstructed and acquired modern look. In the 1960s, the exposition was completely changed, and in the period from 1967 to 1991, the pavilion housed a permanent exhibition dedicated to space exploration - it was in this form that the Cosmos pavilion was remembered by Muscovites. However, in the 1990s, like many other VDNKh pavilions, it turned into trading floor. Here they began to sell seedlings and goods for gardeners, while collections and decoration were partially lost.

The desolation of Cosmos continued until 2015, when the pavilion was vacated from tenants, and in 2016 its restoration began. The pavilion was not only repaired and adapted for modern use, but also the lost decorative details were carefully restored and the remaining ones were restored. At the same time, specialists were working on the concept of the future museum.

On April 13, 2018, the Aviation and Cosmonautics Center was opened in the renovated Cosmos pavilion, and the legendary pavilion after for long years desolation has again become one of the most powerful sights of Moscow.

At the moment, the Cosmos Pavilion is not just a building, but an outstanding monument of Soviet architecture, which in itself acts as a valuable exhibit. Visitors to the Aviation and Cosmonautics Center have the opportunity to see it not only from the outside, but also inside: look at the smalt panel on the subject of the electrification of the USSR, the emblems of the Union republics and the huge Kremlin star under the dome.

Opening hours, how to get there

The Cosmonautics and Aviation Center in the Cosmos pavilion is open to the public every day except Monday. It is best to visit it on weekdays when there are fewer visitors in the pavilion.

Opening hours: from 11:00 to 22:00. The visit is organized by sessions:

11:00 - 13:00;

13:00 - 15:00;

15:00 - 17:00;

17:00 - 19:00;

19:00 - 21:00 (entrance to the last session is possible only until 21:00, from this time until 22:00 the center works only for exits).

Visit cost: 500 rubles - full, 250 rubles - preferential, for certain preferential categories, a free visit is provided.

Official website of the center "Cosmonautics and Aviation": cosmos.vdnh.ru - on it you can clarify the work schedule and ticket prices on a specific selected day, as well as buy tickets online or book an excursion.

Pavilion "Cosmos" is located on Promyshlennosti VDNKh Square at Prospekt Mira, 119 building 34. You can get to it on foot from the metro station "VDNH" Kaluga-Rizhskaya line.

From the atmosphere to space. Aerospace aircraft - transport of the future

Intensive exploration of near-Earth space in the near future will lead to a sharp increase in orbital cargo flows. Fundamentally new space transport systems can be created on the basis of aerospace aircraft (VKS) with a combined power plant. At the initial stage of acceleration, the VCS uses air to create lift, and atmospheric oxygen to oxidize the fuel, like a conventional aircraft. This allows you to significantly reduce fuel costs and launch weight compared to conventional missile systems.

The duration of the flight at supersonic speeds imposes special requirements on such an aircraft, since it is subjected to powerful thermal and force effects of the atmosphere. One of the solutions to reduce aerodynamic drag is the active control of the flow around the aircraft by supplying heat to the oncoming supersonic flow using laser or microwave radiation.

The prospects for the use of near-Earth space are enormous. Communication and navigation systems, environmental monitoring, mineral exploration, climate control, production of new materials and much, much more. All these activities will require the creation and operation space stations multifunctional purpose, which means the delivery of a large number of cargoes to near-Earth orbit. The task of returning emergency and spent structures from space is becoming more and more urgent, since its “clogging” threatens with serious complications. Hence the urgent need to create fundamentally new spacecraft, which in the near future will be able to cope with increased traffic flows.

Rocket systems that exist today are not able to ensure the movement of cargo into near-Earth orbit in large volumes. The reasons for this lie not only in the high cost, but also in the long time of launch preparation and the small number of launch complexes themselves.

Fundamentally new transport systems can be created on the basis of aerospace aircraft(VKS) with a combined power plant, including ramjet engine(ramjet) powered by hydrogen, and liquid propellant rocket engine(LPRE). Using air to create lift and atmospheric oxygen for fuel oxidation in most of the atmospheric section of the acceleration trajectory, it is possible to significantly reduce fuel consumption and the launch mass of the spacecraft. Such an aerospace aircraft is capable of delivering cargo to low Earth orbit, the weight of which is equal to 3-5% of the take-off. At the same time, according to experts, the unit cost of delivery will be 20-50 times less than when using missiles.

Being an aircraft, the VKS has a number of other advantages over missile systems. It can launch horizontally from any airfield (there is no need for complex and expensive launch complexes), and preparation for launch takes much less time. The VKS is able to enter the desired near-Earth orbit by maneuvering in the atmosphere, and not in space, which requires significantly less fuel. It practically lacks the exclusion zone characteristic of missiles, where spent structural elements fall. Thanks to these advantages, videoconferencing can also be used in fast rescue operations.

However, special requirements are imposed on such a “universal” aircraft. After all, in contrast to the return compartments of spacecraft, the VKS must make a fairly long flight in the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, using a continuously operating propulsion system. Therefore, the main difficulties in creating such an aircraft are due, first of all, to the structure of the thermal and force effects of the atmosphere.

During flight, the maximum pressure on the vehicle is proportional to the square of the free stream velocity, and the thermal load at the critical point of the vehicle's nose, corresponding to the flow stagnation point, is proportional to the cube of the velocity. As a result, at hypersonic flight speeds (M * > 6), the thermal load increases by almost ten times or more compared to supersonic speeds (M ≤ 3), and the equilibrium temperature of the heat-insulated shell of the aircraft almost three times.

Solving these problems when creating hypersonic aircraft requires design engineers to search for fundamentally new scientific and technical ideas, primarily in the field of materials, aerodynamics and heat transfer.

The main weight is fuel

Research on the development of technology for hypersonic flight with a ramjet engine on hydrogen has been carried out since the middle of the last century in a number of foreign countries(USA, France, Germany, Japan, China, Australia), as well as in the USSR, where two hypersonic systems were developed - Spiral and Buran.

Despite significant progress in the development of videoconferencing technologies, many problems remain unresolved. And the first in this series are the interrelated problems of the engine and the configuration of the aircraft itself, since the fuel costs for launching into orbit are determined mainly by the characteristics of the power plant and the aerodynamic quality of the aircraft layout.

Based on studies of the aerodynamic quality of aircraft configurations and the specific impulse of a ramjet engine using experimental models at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the mass of fuel required to accelerate the spacecraft to the 1st space velocity ** was calculated. It turned out that it should be about 70% of its starting mass. Calculations showed that the value of the launch mass is very sensitive to the variation in the relative mass of the fuel. For example, a decrease (increase) in fuel costs by 1% will lead to a corresponding change in the launch mass of the spacecraft by 25%.

Therefore, it is not surprising that very strict restrictions are imposed on the mass of the VCS design itself. A relatively large mass of the structure is allowed only for multi-stage systems, in particular, under the condition that spent structural elements are dropped in certain sections of the flight path. However, in this case, the operating conditions of multistage systems become more complicated, and the cost increases accordingly.

We warm the air

It is possible to achieve a reduction in fuel consumption by increasing the aerodynamic quality (i.e., the ratio of aerodynamic lift to aerodynamic resistance) and the specific impulse of the power plant (the ratio of engine thrust to fuel consumption). Numerous experimental studies of the aerodynamic characteristics of hypersonic aircraft indicate that their maximum lift-to-drag ratio in the hypersonic speed range has a finite limit at real Reynolds numbers (the ratio of dynamic force to friction force) K max ≈ 6.

Since it is not possible to increase this indicator by means of aerodynamic design, much attention is currently paid to solving the problem of actively controlling the flow around bodies by means of energy and (or) force impact on the oncoming flow, in particular, by supplying heat to the supersonic flow in front of the body. For the technical implementation of this idea, it is supposed to use laser and microwave radiation.

The estimate of the mass of fuel required to accelerate an aerospace aircraft to the 1st space velocity was made on the basis of the solution differential equation, which generalizes the formula of K. E. Tsiolkovsky under the action of external forces. In this case, the fuel costs required to increase the speed of the aircraft by a given value Δ V, depend not only on the efficiency of the power plant, but also on the complex  σ= Kn v (K– aerodynamic quality, the ratio of aerodynamic lift to aerodynamic drag; n v- longitudinal overload, the ratio of the acceleration of the aircraft to the acceleration of free fall).
The efficiency of the power plant is characterized by the specific impulse I e(the ratio of engine thrust to fuel consumption). The greater the specific impulse and the complex σ, the lower the fuel consumption. This is understandable: an increase in lift-to-drag ratio means a decrease in aerodynamic drag for a given lift force that balances the weight of the aircraft; increasing the longitudinal overload reduces the acceleration time. Maximum value n v limited by the strength of the structure and the ability of a person to withstand long-term (tens of minutes) overload.
Launch weight VKS m 0 is equal to the sum of the masses of the structure m K, fuel supply (fuel) m T and payload launched into orbit m pn:
m 0  = m K  + m T  + m pn
Introducing relative values m k  = m K   / m 0 and m Т  = m Т  / m 0, we get
m 0  = m pn  / 1 – m̅ T  –m̅ K
From this it follows that very stringent requirements are imposed on the mass of the structure. m̅K≤ 0.3, and the value of the launch mass is very sensitive to the variation in the relative mass of the fuel:
 δ m 0  / m 0  =δ m̅ Т  / m̅ pn
Reducing the relative mass of the propellant leads not only to a decrease in the launch mass of the spacecraft, but also allows you to relax the requirements for the design

In most of these theoretical and experimental studies, the problem of reducing aerodynamic drag is considered. This effect is mainly associated with a decrease in the gas density in the oncoming flow, which is confirmed by calculations and direct measurements. Changes in the flow regime due to changes in the Mach number or Reynolds number, as well as flow ionization, can also play a certain role.

Using the example of a hypersonic gas flow around a trapezoidal model airfoil, it was shown that aerodynamic drag and lift can be influenced by the formation of a stepwise temperature distribution in the oncoming flow (which corresponds to a stepwise distribution of gas density). Such an effect can be achieved, for example, by pulse-periodic heating of the flow by combining laser and microwave radiation. At the same time, the highest lift-to-drag ratio is achieved in the gliding mode, when the flight takes place at the interface between high and low density media.

functional models

Checking one or another way of controlling the oncoming air flow can be carried out using the so-called functional simulation. In this sense, an aircraft - a complex hierarchical system - can be represented as interconnected set various subsystems, determined by functional features.

Mathematical model aircraft consists of a number of blocks: aerodynamic characteristics, engine thrust and specific impulse, flight path, functional limitations, optimal control. Thus, it reflects the functional characteristics and connections of the elements as a whole, without being strictly tied to specific implementing devices.

Using such a model, it is possible to evaluate both the fundamental possibility of achieving the set goal, and specific characteristics (efficiency, critical operating modes, etc.). By changing the basic values ​​of the characteristics of individual elements, it is possible to determine their influence on the functional properties of the system as a whole and to establish the magnitude of permissible perturbations - to develop requirements for the accuracy of measuring parameters.

The peculiarity of functional modeling is that the synthesis and analysis of the object is carried out with a small amount of initial information. This implies, firstly, the iterative nature of the construction of a mathematical model, which implies a constant adjustment of the process, taking into account the results already obtained. Secondly, the model provides for a minimum number of input parameters to be set, which reduces the degree of uncertainty in establishing the characteristics of the aircraft.

The second circumstance stimulates the search for new, more generalized forms of representation of the functional properties of elements. Naturally, they must be related to a variety of possible specific devices. However, the selection and development of the devices themselves is the next stage of work.

Combustion in supersonic flow

The most important part of the VKS power plant is a ramjet engine, the theoretical and experimental study of which has been the subject of many works.

The concept of using a ramjet for flight at hypersonic speeds provides that fuel combustion in the engine duct should take place in a supersonic air flow. In this case, the amount of burning fuel must be sufficient to obtain the required thrust. The well-known Italian physicist, creator of the first supersonic wind tunnel A. Ferri proposed several methods for injecting fuel into a stream and described possible patterns of the flows that arise in this case. However, there is no information about their practical implementation.

In general, the diagnostics of flows formed during the combustion of fuel is extremely difficult due to the uneven distribution of flow parameters and the nonequilibrium of processes. Until now, there are no reliable experimental data indicating that a supersonic flow is actually preserved in the engine channel when it is “heated” as a result of fuel combustion, given that the static gas temperature should not exceed 2500–2700 °K. This limitation, which is important in hypersonic flight, is associated with the need to limit the degree of dissociation of combustion products, since the latter leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the gas flow and, consequently, to a decrease in engine thrust.

To determine the characteristics of the ramjet existing methods it is required to set a certain set of defining quantities that depend on the gas-dynamic and geometric parameters of the engine and are determined, as a rule, experimentally. Therefore, these methods are of little use in functional modeling, when it is necessary to determine the minimum set of basic parameters that change relatively little (and predictably) during the operation of the system.

Within the framework of this approach, a functional mathematical model of the power plant was built at ITAM, which makes it possible to obtain estimates of the thrust coefficient and specific impulse of a ramjet and a combination of rocket and ramjet engines. This takes into account that part of the energy of the combustion products will be used to control the external flow around the aircraft.

Estimates of the effectiveness of controlling the external flow by heating the air in front of the aircraft showed that during cruising at supersonic speeds, the so-called Breguet range factor *** increases significantly - up to a third, depending on the flight Mach number - due to an increase in the aerodynamic quality.

Comparison of fuel consumption for acceleration with air heating before the VCS and without heating was made on optimal flight trajectories when a combined engine is used. Fuel economy on the acceleration trajectory amounted to 3% of the takeoff weight of the VKS. This means, firstly, that the solution of design problems is facilitated. Secondly, that it becomes possible to significantly increase the payload of the spacecraft.

According to various estimates, the weight of the payload put into orbit is 3-5% of the aircraft's launch weight - figures comparable to the calculated fuel savings when controlling the flow around the aircraft. Thus, it is obvious that the control of the UML flow by heating the oncoming flow will be very effective both in the cruising mode and during acceleration.

Need thermal protection

There are a number of more particular, although no less important, problems that need to be solved when creating an aerospace aircraft. One of them is intense aerodynamic heating, which airframe structures have to withstand for a long time, because the heat flux to the aircraft surface is proportional to the flight speed to the third power. Such a thermal effect is a real barrier that must be overcome when creating hypersonic aircraft.

The high temperatures of almost all areas of the aircraft surface exclude the possibility of using traditional metals (aluminum, titanium, steel) for its construction. Possible ways thermal protection surfaces are divided into passive and active, as well as their combinations. The former include, for example, the use of degradable materials, radiating coatings, coatings with low thermal diffusivity, characterized by a low rate of temperature equalization. Active thermal protection methods provide for the forced supply of coolant to the hot surface, which may also penetrate into the boundary layer of the external air flow.

The method of thermal conversion seems to be very promising. hydrocarbon fuel, which can partially replace liquid hydrogen. In this case, a mixture of hydrocarbon fuel with water is supplied through channels under the hot surfaces. Under the influence of the heat flow, an endothermic reaction of the formation of synthesis gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) occurs, which proceeds with the absorption of heat.

The reaction is accompanied by intense convective motion of the medium, which ensures sufficiently large values ​​of the heat transfer coefficient and low thermal resistance between the medium and the heated wall. As a result, the surface temperature will decrease. The "bonus" in this case will be an increase in the energy of the fuel due to the absorption of external heat flow.

Another tactic of thermal protection of videoconferencing is to reduce the area of ​​surfaces that need to be protected from exposure to high temperatures. ITAM SB RAS has developed the concept of a convergent air intake and a divergent nozzle, which are more compact than conventional ones. A model of such an aircraft was tested in the institute's impulse wind tunnel at М = 7.8 with a working hydrogen engine, and the experimental results coincided with the predicted calculated data.

When flying at supersonic speeds, the shock waves generated by the aircraft reach the earth's surface. The pressure drop on the shock wave creates the so-called sonic boom. The impact of the pressure drop on the eardrums can be very painful; the force of impact can be such that even window panes will break. It is possible to reduce the sonic boom due to the special layout of the aircraft, the choice of the trajectory and flight mode, as well as the active influence on the structure shock waves in the vicinity of the aircraft.

even given here short review demonstrates the unprecedented complexity of building a single-stage aerospace aircraft. However, a powerful stimulating factor for speeding up work on its creation is the exponential growth in the rate of exploration of near-Earth space.

To perform the entire range of works (scientific research, design developments, production of a prototype, experimental fine-tuning, creation of operational structures) require huge human, material and financial resources. It will probably become possible to fulfill the plan only with the combined efforts of many countries. But the goal is worth it, because the further exploration of outer space should contribute to the successful and peaceful development of human civilization.

Literature

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Latypov A. F. Evaluation of the energy efficiency of heat supply in front of the body during acceleration flight. Part 1. Mathematical model // Thermophysics and Aeromechanics, 2008. V. 15, No. 4. P. 573-584. Part 2. Mathematical model of the accelerating section of the trajectory.

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Latypov A. F., Fomin V. M. The method of operation of a supersonic pulsating ramjet engine and a supersonic pulsating ramjet engine // RF Patent No. 2347098, 2009.

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* Mach number - the ratio of air flow speed to the speed of sound

** The minimum speed required to put a body into Earth's orbit

*** Breguet range factor Br = VKI, Where V- flight speed, K– aerodynamic quality, I– specific impulse of the engine