Yenisei (rocket)
Russian super-heavy rocket for lunar exploration, development paused then resumed.
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The Yenisei (Енисей), also known as RN STK-1, is a super-heavy launch vehicle under development by the Russian space industry, with RSC Energia as the main developer. It is being created under a federal target program with a budget of 600 billion rubles and serves as the primary rocket for Russia's lunar exploration program. The final design was expected by autumn 2021, but the program appeared to pause or stop near that date, though a 2024 announcement stated the project will resume in 2025.
Flight tests
Flight tests are planned in two stages from 2028 to 2035. The first stage, 2028–2032, involves launching a crewed spacecraft, a lunar take-off and landing complex (LVPK), and other payloads on circumlunar trajectories to test crewed complex elements, establish a lunar orbit station, and land on the Moon. The second stage, 2032–2035, plans uncrewed LVPK launches for constructing and operating a lunar base, and includes participation in international Mars study programs.
Did You Know?
- The first stage consists of 6 blocks, each based on the first stage of the planned Irtysh / Soyuz-5 rocket with an RD-171MV engine.
- The second stage is one block matching the first stage of Soyuz-6 with an RD-180 engine.
- The upper stage is KVTK, and the accelerating braking unit is Block DM.
More in Space Launch Vehicles of Russia
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Yenisei (rocket) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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