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Russia develops new rocket for launching satellites, official says |
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May 25, 2000
MOSCOW, MAY 24 (AP) - A Russian company is developing rocket technology to cheaply launch satellites into space from a transport plane flying high above the Earth, an official said Wednesday.
The rocket, known as Polyot, or "Flight," will be ready by 2003, assuming its builders get dlrs 130 million to complete development, said Sergei Mashurov, vice president of the Air Launch company, which is running the project.
The rocket will eventually be able to deliver small satellites weighing 400 kilograms (880 pounds) into low orbits, Mashurov said.
It would be launched from a giant Antonov An-124, one of the world's largest airplanes, and would be much cheaper than rockets that are launched from the ground.
The main advantage of the system is its price: each kilogram of payload would cost as low as dlrs 5,000 (dlrs 2,200 per pound), far less than the current cost of putting payloads into orbit, he said.
"What we're saying is that we can provide the market with a highly competitive launch system," Mashurov said. "It will be reliable and use the most modern technology."
According to Mashurov, Air Launch still has to decide how to get the rocket out of the plane before ignition. One option would use parachutes to drag it out, while another would involve a high pressure system to push the rocket.
Several countries are developing ways to cheaply launch satellites into space. American space officials say they are working on technology that would lower the price to launch one pound of cargo to dlrs 1,000 (dlrs 2,200 per kilogram).
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