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 |  | Khrunichev Demonstrates Reusable Rocket Booster
By Interfax
posted: 12:14 pm ET
19 June 2001
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LE BOURGET, France (Interfax) - A recoverable stage for a launch vehicle, named the Baikal, is being demonstrated by its designer, the Khrunichev space center from Russia, at the 44th international air show in Le Bourget, near Paris
LE BOURGET, France
(Interfax) - A recoverable stage for a launch vehicle, named the Baikal,
is being demonstrated by its designer, the Khrunichev space center from
Russia, at the 44th international air show in Le Bourget, near Paris.
"In the past, the first stage
of a launch vehicle dropped to the earth after separation and great material
resources were spent on the production of new ones. However, after separating
from the launch vehicle, the Baikal returns itself to earth," Vladimir
Kovalenko, spokesman for the Khrunichev center, told Interfax on Tuesday.
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| |  | He said the designers intend
for the new type of first stage to be used for up to 100 launches.
After separation, the Baikal
automatically extends a swept wing and undercarriage and returns to the
launching area along a complex trajectory. To land, the Baikal needs an
airfield with a relatively short 1.2 kilometer runway, Kovalenko said.
He said that with due financing,
test flights of the Baikal may be conducted in two years.
The new stage is expected
to be used with launch vehicles of the Angara project, uniting both light-
and heavy-duty rockets, including the frequently used Proton. Coupled with
heavy-duty launch vehicles, the Baikal will be capable of taking a payload
of up to five tonnes (5.5 tons) into orbit, Kovalenko said.
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