THE ENTIRE MILITARY SPACE

Red Star. October 4, 2002. Anatoli Dokuchayev

On the eve of the 45th anniversary of the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite and, just before we mark the jubilee of our Space Forces (which, by right, began their history on 4 October 1957), we have an opportunity to look at our military space systems and programs in their entirety. The fifth volume of the "Russia's Arms and Technologies. XXI Century" encyclopedia has come out. The new publication has been prepared by highly authoritative experts and specialists of manufacturing enterprises and companies operating in the rocket-space industry, by research organizations of the Defense Ministry, by historians and by journalists of the Arms and Technologies publishing house. The work was done under general supervision of Sergei Ivanov, the Defense Minister of the Russian Federation.

I would like to point out that the fifth volume is unusual in any respect. It compares very favorably even with its elder brothers, including "Strategic Nuclear Forces", Rocket and Artillery Armament of Ground Forces", "Naval Weapons" and "Military Aircraft" - the unique publications in the opinion of all experts. An article by the Defense Minister of the Russian Federation titled "Space assets in the system of military and national security" opens the fifth volume.

"As well as the land, the sea and the airspace, the outer space is now considered an area where the deployed military systems are likely to be a decisive factor for the progress and outcome of a local conflict or a war" - says Sergei Ivanov - "Space-based systems make it possible to carry out reconnaissance missions continually and globally. They supply targeting information to users and perform communication, troop control, missile attack warning, navigation, cartographic, geophysical and other missions" - continues the Defense Minister and says that the international and our own experience demonstrates that the deployment of space systems increases the effectiveness of military and special operations by a factor of 1.5 to 2 times.

Colonel-General Anatoli Perminov, Commander-in-Chief of Space Forces, in his article "Operations of Space Forces in the interests of information support of the Armed Forces" says that in the history of the Armed Forces of Russia, a new page was opened on 24 March 2001, when a Decree of the President of the Russian Federation was issued to set up Space Forces on the basis of space defense troops, a constituent element of strategic missile forces. The Space Forces achieved operational capability by 1 June 2001.

And now, let us travel around the fifth volume of the multi-volume encyclopedia "Russia's Arms and Technologies. XXI Century". It broadly describes modern space-missile defense weapons and systems, including missile attack warning, space monitoring and ballistic missile defense systems (experimental system "A", operational ballistic missile defense systems A-35 and A-135 deployed around Moscow), as well as an anti-space defense complex. The book not only acquaints the reader with their constituent elements, but it also describes their architecture and operating principle. Moreover, colorful charts and tables complement this information.

It is worth noting that the diagram illustrating the operational coverage of Russian missile attack warning radars deployed around Moscow, Pechyora, Murmansk, Baranovochi, Mukachevo, Sevastopol, Gabaly, Balkhash and Irkutsk is presented in this book for the first time. The operational capabilities of one of "star war" elements - the IS-M anti-space defense complex - are also unveiled in this official publication for the first time. Its purpose is to kill the adversary's military satellites whose trajectories cross the territory of Russia. An upgraded anti-space defense complex intercepts the target before it reaches its orbit, approaches the target many times and intercepts maneuverable targets, including those on crossing trajectories.

Major manufacturers of space systems are presented for specialists and, probably, for potential clients. They include the Vympel Interstate Corporation, the Kometa Central Research Institute, the Electronic and Information Systems Concern, the Academician A. L. Mints Radiotechnical Institute, etc.

For the first time, the requirements for non-strategic missile defense are described in detail. Their possible types and directions of international cooperation in creating such systems are presented. Russian systems that could be used for the purpose are: the S-300PMU-2 (Favorite) surface-to-air missile system developed and produced by the Almaz Research and Production Association and the S-300V SAM system developed by NIEMI.

Russian missiles and space systems are covered broadly in the book. Basic performance characteristics of all types of launch vehicles, which inject payloads into orbit, as well as the space complexes based on "conversion" ground-based and submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles are given in full detail. Presently, different types of launch vehicles and booster rockets are used to put payloads into orbit. Depending on the payload weight that is to be placed in a low near-earth orbit, different classes of launch vehicles are used. They are as follows: light launchers, such as the Kosmos-3M and Tsyklon-3, medium launchers, such as the Molniya-M, Soyuz-U2 and Zenit-2, and a heavy launcher, such as the Proton-K. Today, development work and tests are underway on the improved versions of medium-class launcher Soyuz-2 and on the heavy launchers Proton-M and Angara. The modified ground-based and submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles are also used to place payloads into orbit. Nikolai Shumkov, Head of Defense Rocketry Department at Rosaviakosmos said in this connection that the space-missile systems known to-date have been derived from "conversion" ground-based and submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Angara advanced launch vehicle is being developed in four versions: light version (Angara-1.1 and Angara-1.2), medium version (Angara-3), heavy version (Angara-5) and ultra-heavy version (Angara-UKVM2). They are earmarked to replace the today's Protons. New launchers are being developed at the M. Khrunichev State Research and Production Center. Together with the Khrunichev world-famous Research and Production Center, the fifth volume of the encyclopedia describes other developers of launch vehicles, including the TsKB-Progress State Research and Production Center, the Rosobshchemash Joint Stock Company and the V. Makeyev Design Bureau.

The reader can find information about launch vehicles used to inject small spacecraft into orbit. They are the Start family of launchers, which incorporate units and systems of the RS-12M intercontinental ballistic missile making part of the Topol-M system, and the Rokot launch vehicle developed from the RS-18 (SS-19) two-stage ballistic missile.

It is logical that along with the launch vehicles intended to place payloads into orbit, different spacecraft designed to orbit the Earth are described in this volume. The authors of the encyclopedia acquaint the reader with space communication, intelligence, surveillance and remote Earth monitoring systems, as well as with systems designed to protect the Earth against collision with comets and asteroids.

For the first time, information about aerospace systems and technologies, including the Air Launch aerospace complex, is presented. This complex consists of the An-124-100VS Ruslan carrier-aircraft, the Polyot two-stage launch vehicle fitted with modified oxygen-kerosene engines NK-43M, a ground-based launch preparation complex deployed at the primary and intermediate airfields and an automated launch preparation, firing and flight control system.

The reader will also find information about the Spiral aerospace system, the Buran space shuttle, the Baikal reusable booster, a multi-purpose aerospace system and the M-55Kh Kosmopolis reusable aerospace system, which can be used in international space exploration programs.

The reader will familiarize himself with developers of all of these systems, among which are the Molniya Research and Production Association, the Myasishchev Experimental Machine Building Plant, the Arsenal Design Bureau named after M. Frunze, the Lavochkin Research and Production Association, etc.

Much emphasis in the fifth volume is placed on modern aerospace technologies, main lines of activities and infrastructure of space equipment testing facilities of the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation. Much information is given to the reader about the Russian State Research, Testing and Cosmonaut Training Center named after Y. Gagarin.

Yuri Koptev, Director General of Russian Aerospace Agency, Doctor of Sciences (Technology) tells the reader about interaction between space systems and complexes. Nikolai Anfimov, Director of Central Machine Building Research Institute, Academician, tells us about Russia's space activities. Today, more than 20 percent of world nations are actively involved in space programs and more than 85 percent of nations use the results of these activities.

In conclusion, I would like to quote the Defense Minister of the Russian Federation who said: "As before, Russia is a great space power today. Space programs occupy one of the highest places in the list of the country's activities".