LKS (space shuttle)

The space shuttle LKS ( Russian Лёгкий Космический Самолёт , dt. "Light Cosmos Airplane") was a project under the direction of Vladimir Nikolayevich Tschelomei as a smaller and cheaper answer of the Soviet Union to the space shuttle . However, this small space shuttle was discarded in favor of the larger Buran . A full- size demonstration model of the LKS was produced.

history

In the period from 1950 to 1964, even before the conception of the US space shuttle in 1972, Tschelomei developed two concepts for spacecraft that take off vertically and land horizontally. On the one hand the MP-1 Kosmoplan , a spaceship that should primarily complete missions to the moon, Mars and Venus. When re-entering the earth's atmosphere, it should land like a conventional airplane with the support of turbo engines. The other development, called Raketoplan, was a space shuttle for use in earth orbit (passenger transport, space freight and weapons missions). Both concepts were not implemented due to the disempowerment of Khrushchev . In 1970 he designed another space glider concept, the LKS , which was proposed in 1979 as an alternative to Buran / Energija . The first projects had two vertical stabilizers with a slight V-position, roughly comparable to the vertical stabilizer arrangement of the F / A-18 . However, this was later changed to a conventional arrangement of a vertical stabilizer as in the Space Shuttle and Buran. After various studies, Chelomei decided on a space glider with a mass of around 20 tons, which was to be launched as a payload of a Proton rocket . LKS should be able to transport two crew members, two tons of fuel and another four tons of payload. The landing was to take place in gliding flight on a conventional runway, whereby the steerable nose landing gear was provided with a conventional wheel and the main landing gear had a skid instead of wheels. LKS was designed for both manned and unmanned use. For the launch on the Proton, the wings should be folded up close to the fuselage and only returned to their normal position after separation from the rocket. In 1976, the Soviet government approved the chief designer Valentin Petrovich Gluschko to continue with the Buran project, which at that time was intended as a pure space shuttle copy in the advanced development phase. The Buran project and its massive Energija launch vehicle (heavily supported by Gluschko himself) were the target of several critics among Soviet designers and scientists. One of them was the author and designer Wladimir Nikolajewitsch Tschelomei, a former colleague of Glushko and in charge of the OKB-52 NPO Maschinostrojenija , in which the Proton rocket , the TKS spaceships and the Almas and Salyut space stations were manufactured. He claimed that the Buran project was too big, too heavy and too expensive for the Soviet possibilities and suggested a scaled-down copy of the planned space shuttle as an alternative. Such a spaceship would be lighter and would be transported by one of its Proton rockets at the tip of the rocket. The LKS retained all of the main features of the original shuttle / buran project, which was only scaled down, with a cargo hold with the ability to carry a wide range of military and civilian payloads. In 1980, the construction of a full-size model began, which was realized in just one month of full-time work to convince the Soviet authorities of his idea. In 1982, Chelomei was ordered to stop work on the LKS project. Chelomei has been charged with spending more than 400,000 rubles on a program that was not formally approved. When US President Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in March 1983 , Chelomei made another attempt to obtain a permit to build the LKS to defend against US ICBMs . In September 1983, however, this was rejected by a government commission. In December 1984, Chelomei died, leaving his most ambitious project unfinished. The real consequences only emerged in 1991 when the demonstration model was destroyed by strangers for unknown reasons in a so-called "sabotage" act. The question remains whether the LKS would have been a good alternative not only to the Buran and the Soyuz spacecraft , but also, in the long term, a better supply alternative for the Mir and ISS space stations .

Technical specifications

Crew: 2
Length: 18.75 m
Span: 11.60 m
Height: 6.70 m
habitable volume: 16.00 m³
Loading space volume: 30.00 m³ (6.5 × 2.5 m)
Takeoff weight: 19,950 kg
Landing mass: 17,800 kg
Empty weight: 13,800 kg
Payload: 4,000 kg
Motors: 11D442 (2) × 445 kg
Drive: UDMH / N2O2 × 2000 kg
Energy supply: batteries / fuel cells
Rescue system: 2 ejection seats ( Zvezda K-36D)
Δv : 300 m / s (total)
Orbital parameters: 259 × 220 km at a 51.65 ° orbit inclination
Glide ratio : 1.5 (at supersonic speed)
Range: approx. 2000 km
Landing speed: 300 km / h

Mission flow

begin

1st start (T = 00:00)
2. Separation of the first stage (T = 02:06)
3. Separation of the second stage (T = 05:34)
4. Separation of the third stage (T = 09:49)
5. LKS OMS ignition (T = 10:00)
6th orbit reached (T = 13:20)

Completion of the mission in space preparation for re-entry

1. LKS positions itself for orbit deceleration
2. LKS OMS ignition & De-Orbit deceleration
3. Braking maneuvers
4. LKS re-entry into the atmosphere

Landing approach

1. LKS is back in the atmosphere
2. Braking maneuvers
3. LKS enters the landing path
4. LKS assumes a steep descent angle
5. LKS navigates (final apron) to the Baikonur landing strip
6. LKS lands and opens the braking parachutes

Web links

Internet presence (Russian / English)
LKS in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
Light Space Plane, LKS on the Russian Space Web (English)

source

Giuseppe De Chiara: “LKS” - The Chelomei alternative to Buran. (PDF; 6.4 MB) In: forum.nasaspaceflight.com. August 31, 2012, accessed July 24, 2018 .

Individual evidence

↑ Bart Hendrikx Bert Vis: Energiya-Buran The Soviet Space Shuttle, chapter: The roots of Buran page 28 and chapter: The origins of the Space Shuttle pages 44-45. ISBN 978-0-387-69848-9
↑ Anatoly Zak: Raketoplan. In: RussianSpaceWeb.com. October 7, 2015, accessed on September 2, 2018 .
↑ LKS. In: russianspaceweb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018 .

[1] Bart Hendrikx Bert Vis: Energiya-Buran The Soviet Space Shuttle, chapter: The roots of Buran page 28 and chapter: The origins of the Space Shuttle pages 44-45. ISBN 978-0-387-69848-9

[2] Anatoly Zak: Raketoplan. In: RussianSpaceWeb.com. October 7, 2015, accessed on September 2, 2018 .

[3] LKS. In: russianspaceweb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018 .


In use:	Progress \| H-2 Transfer Vehicle \| Dragon 1 \| Cygnus \| Tianzhou
In development:	Cargo Dragon 2 \| Dream Chaser \| HTV-X \| Chinese multipurpose spaceship
Retired:	TKS \| Space Shuttle \| Automated Transfer Vehicle
Unrealized:	Buran \| LKS \| Hermes \| Kistler K-1 Orbital Vehicle \| Parom