The Yuzhne Design Bureau of Ukraine is carrying out design work to create a whole line of promising Mayak super-heavy space launch vehicles. The company announced this in its YouTube channel.
Designers of the bureau claim that the Mayak-SH-3 rocket will be able to put 59 tons of payload into a low Earth orbit, the Mayak-SH-5 rocket - 93 tons, Mayak-SH-6 - 109 tons, and Mayak-SH-7 - 125 tons .
Missiles are planned to be used, among other things, for launching into the "supporting near-earth orbit" of the Ukrainian lunar transport system Earth - Moon - Earth.
Recall that now Ukraine does not produce its own rockets and does not have its own spaceport. As for Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, for 15 years the organization has been developing the Cyclone-4 launch vehicle. Initially, Brazil participated in the project, but in 2015 terminated the contract.
Superheavy class rockets in the last century were launched by the Soviet Union (N-1 and Energy) and the United States (Saturn-5). Now the world is using the American Falcon Heavy super-heavy rocket. In addition, the corresponding developments are conducted by Russia (Yenisei and Don), China (Chang Zheng-9), as well as the USA (SLS and Big Falcon Rocket).
“There is no appropriate infrastructure”
Experts are skeptical about the prospects of completing the design work to create a line of Mayak super-heavy space launch vehicles. In their opinion, even if the development is completed, the country is unlikely to be able to establish production, since it does not have the necessary technological potential.
The Yuzhny Design Bureau says that a new series of Mayak missiles will use a pair of kerosene-oxygen as fuel. However, as analysts emphasize, there is simply no base for testing new engines at Ukrainian production sites.
Experts doubt the design capacity of the Ukrainian bureau. It is worth recalling that in May the ex-president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, who once headed the Yuzhmash plant, at the Mayak rocket presentation during the 7th International Conference “Space Technologies” doubted that the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau had at least drawings of the new engines of these missiles. So Kuchma reacted to statements by representatives of Yuzhmash and Yuzhnoye Design Bureau about Kiev’s plans to agree with Kazakhstan regarding the use of the Baikonur Cosmodrome for launches.
As the commercial director of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Alexei Leonkov notes, the desire of the Ukrainian side to create a new line is likely to remain unfulfilled.
“In Ukraine, there is no appropriate infrastructure, you must at least have your own spaceport, which Ukraine does not have. In addition, even if the designers succeed in designing such missiles, it will not be possible to test them - there are no such capacities in the country, ”Leonkov explained in a conversation with RT.
The expert drew attention to the "economic component of the case."
“It should be borne in mind that the Ukrainian economy lives off of the IMF, and the public debt is growing, so there’s no reason to talk about the development of the high-tech industry,” the analyst said.
- © Design Bureau "Southern"
In his opinion, Kiev has little chance of finding a sponsor who would be ready to finance such initiatives.
“The sponsor will have to invest in infrastructure, and this is expensive - we are talking about billions of dollars of investments that should pay off. In addition, it will be necessary to build an additional structure that could track, for example, satellites, ”the expert said.
Aleksey Leonkov also recalled that earlier the Ukrainian side had already tried to attract South Korea, China and the USA, as well as a number of European countries, to cooperation in the space sector, but to no avail.
“With a state that has a weak economy, no one in the world will conclude contracts of this kind. In addition, everyone knows that Ukraine has a fairly strong corruption component. It’s far from the fact that the money allocated for the project will be spent for its intended purpose, ”the analyst said.
At the same time, military expert Boris Yulin admits that if eventually the development of new missiles is finally completed, this kind of project can be financed by the West, guided by political considerations.
“However, this requires the will of the leaders of the heads of Western states, which is also not observed now. And it’s not a fact that this money is not stolen in Ukraine either, ”Yulin stated in an interview with RT.
Alexei Leonkov also recalled that Ukraine’s plans for the development of the space industry have been "for many years".
“Since 1991, Ukraine has been trying to develop its own space program. However, the only thing she still managed to do was to participate in a joint program with Russia. But this project lost its relevance after relations between the countries worsened and Kiev lost the lion's share of orders from Moscow, ”the expert said.
- Assembling a tank at the Kiev Armored Plant
- AFP
- © Sergei SUPINSKY
Boris Yulin, in turn, stated that after the 2000s, the industry of Ukraine was greatly degraded.
“After 2014, the situation only worsened. It's hard to imagine how businesses still survive there, ”says the analyst.
Declarative statements
At the same time, experts say: in Ukraine, “castles in the air” continue to cost, and plans to create a line of promising Mayak space launch vehicles are not the first "Fantastic initiative" of this kind.
For example, in November, Ukraine announced plans to build a city on the moon - Yuzhnoye Design Bureau presented a conceptual project for a family of lunar flying landing craft that can be used to search for minerals. According to the designers, this project should be the first step before the construction of the lunar city. The idea was presented at the Dubai Airshow 2019 air show. This was reported on the company's website.
- View of Kiev
- globallookpress.com
- © Christophe Gateau / dpa
In February, Ukraine also announced plans to create a floating platform for launching missiles.
“Ukraine does not have its own cosmodrome ... For a long time we need to have our own platform for launching missiles, and it can be created in the Kherson region,” Ukrinform quoted the words of Yuzhmash CEO Sergey Voight.
In addition, in October 2018, Kiev authorities reported that the Foreign Intelligence Service was testing modern technology to carry out intelligence activities in space.
“The SVRU is confidently moving in this direction, the advanced technology of space reconnaissance is being developed using the best practices of domestic experts,” said Alexander Turchinov, who was then secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
His statement was cited by the NSDC press service.
Alexei Leonkov calls such statements, including plans for the design of new Mayak missiles, "declarative."
“Now there are a lot of such messages. Thus, Kiev simply asks for money, and in return offers such fantastic projects that are unlikely to be possible, ”said the expert.
According to Boris Yulin, announcing large-scale space plans, Kiev also expects to impress the population.
“In this case, the task of the previous and current Ukrainian authorities is to demonstrate to the people of Ukraine that they need to be patient a little longer, and then everything will be fine. The president has changed, but the tendency to give promising promises has remained. All this is done in order to ensure maximum loyalty of the population, ”concluded the analyst.