OPSEK

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Endovelico
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OPSEK

Post by Endovelico »

Image
The OPSEK project

By 2008, the Russian successor to the ISS was identified as Orbitalniy Pilotiruemyi Eksperimentalniy Kompleks, OPSEK, or Orbital Manned Assembly and Experiment Complex in English.* Unlike the previous designs of Mir, Mir-2 and the ISS, the heart of the station would be a four-ton ball-shaped Node Module. Equipped with six docking ports, this relatively small and simple element would be the only permanent element of the station. All other modules would come and go as their lifespan and mission required.

The initial architecture of the OPSEK complex would be built out of modules originally planned for the Russian segment of the ISS. The exact scenario of the OPSEK assembly would depend on the end of the ISS and the readiness of the latest Russian modules. According to a 2008 scenario, the MLM multipurpose module, the node module and a pair of NEM power platforms would be first launched to the ISS in 2011, 2013 and 2014-2015, respectively. With the deorbiting of the ISS looming around 2020, these modules would separate from the old outpost to form the core of the new Russian station.

Another, more controversial scenario considered the separation of the practically entire Russian segment, including the MIM-2 docking compartment and the Zvezda service module, prior to the ISS deorbiting. In this case, the 20-year-old service module would temporarily take the responsibility for the flight control of the OPSEK, until its replacement with a 40-ton versatile core module, UMB, launched by a next-generation rocket from a yet-to-be built launch site in Vostochny during the 2020s.

The separation of the Russian segment from the ISS would leave the rest of the outpost without effective orbital maneuvering capabilities, leaving the European ATV spacecraft as a likely candidate to perform the tasks of attitude control and deorbiting. To achieve this the ATV would have to be modified to enable its docking with the US segment of the ISS.

Depending on the operational orbit selected for the OPSEK, it might be necessary to change the orbital inclination of the modules departing the ISS and forming the new station. The lowest inclination accessible from Vostochny is 51.7 degrees, while the ISS is orbiting the Earth with an inclination of 51.6 degrees toward the Equator. It is estimated that one or two Progress cargo ships would be necessary to push the modules from one inclination to the other.

From official statements during 2008 and 2009, it is clear that one of the chief objectives of the OPSEK complex would be support for expeditions to Mars. All major elements of the Martian expeditionary complex, such as the main habitation module, Mars lander and nuclear-powered space tug would dock to the station before their departure from low-Earth orbit toward Mars. The Martian expedition would return to the OPSEK as well.

The station would also play a similar role in lunar exploration. Reusable space tugs could link OPSEK with the Lunar Orbital Station, (LOS), in orbit around the Moon, thus creating a transport chain for a permanent lunar base. Such tasks as the servicing of modular satellites by orbital tugs based at the OPSEK complex were also cited.

In broader terms, TsNIIMash research institute, a chief strategist of the Russian space agency, formulated the OPSEK concept as a foundation of the nation's space strategy. By 2009, the new station was seen as the cornerstone of a new space exploration plan, which extended four decades into the 21st century. The ambitious program apparently included manned missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
According to Wikipedia, these would be the objectives of OPSEK:

Overview

Before the predicted decommissioning of the International Space Station in the 2020s, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) plans to detach some of its modules, such as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (which has not yet launched to the ISS), and use them as the basis for a new space station.

On 17 June 2009, Roscosmos officially informed its ISS partner, the United States, about its intention to "build and prepare for operation the first elements of the orbital assembly and experimental piloted space complex by the end of the ISS life cycle."

According to the Russian manned spaceflight contractor RKK Energia, the new station must be able to perform the following tasks:

- Large spacecraft assembly

- Flight tests and launches

- Creating, servicing and completing inter-orbital tugs

- Providing medical and biological conditions required for the rehabilitation of interplanetary expedition crews after their return to Earth orbit.
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monster_gardener
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Re: OPSEK

Post by monster_gardener »

Endovelico wrote:Image
The OPSEK project

By 2008, the Russian successor to the ISS was identified as Orbitalniy Pilotiruemyi Eksperimentalniy Kompleks, OPSEK, or Orbital Manned Assembly and Experiment Complex in English.* Unlike the previous designs of Mir, Mir-2 and the ISS, the heart of the station would be a four-ton ball-shaped Node Module. Equipped with six docking ports, this relatively small and simple element would be the only permanent element of the station. All other modules would come and go as their lifespan and mission required.

The initial architecture of the OPSEK complex would be built out of modules originally planned for the Russian segment of the ISS. The exact scenario of the OPSEK assembly would depend on the end of the ISS and the readiness of the latest Russian modules. According to a 2008 scenario, the MLM multipurpose module, the node module and a pair of NEM power platforms would be first launched to the ISS in 2011, 2013 and 2014-2015, respectively. With the deorbiting of the ISS looming around 2020, these modules would separate from the old outpost to form the core of the new Russian station.

Another, more controversial scenario considered the separation of the practically entire Russian segment, including the MIM-2 docking compartment and the Zvezda service module, prior to the ISS deorbiting. In this case, the 20-year-old service module would temporarily take the responsibility for the flight control of the OPSEK, until its replacement with a 40-ton versatile core module, UMB, launched by a next-generation rocket from a yet-to-be built launch site in Vostochny during the 2020s.

The separation of the Russian segment from the ISS would leave the rest of the outpost without effective orbital maneuvering capabilities, leaving the European ATV spacecraft as a likely candidate to perform the tasks of attitude control and deorbiting. To achieve this the ATV would have to be modified to enable its docking with the US segment of the ISS.

Depending on the operational orbit selected for the OPSEK, it might be necessary to change the orbital inclination of the modules departing the ISS and forming the new station. The lowest inclination accessible from Vostochny is 51.7 degrees, while the ISS is orbiting the Earth with an inclination of 51.6 degrees toward the Equator. It is estimated that one or two Progress cargo ships would be necessary to push the modules from one inclination to the other.

From official statements during 2008 and 2009, it is clear that one of the chief objectives of the OPSEK complex would be support for expeditions to Mars. All major elements of the Martian expeditionary complex, such as the main habitation module, Mars lander and nuclear-powered space tug would dock to the station before their departure from low-Earth orbit toward Mars. The Martian expedition would return to the OPSEK as well.

The station would also play a similar role in lunar exploration. Reusable space tugs could link OPSEK with the Lunar Orbital Station, (LOS), in orbit around the Moon, thus creating a transport chain for a permanent lunar base. Such tasks as the servicing of modular satellites by orbital tugs based at the OPSEK complex were also cited.

In broader terms, TsNIIMash research institute, a chief strategist of the Russian space agency, formulated the OPSEK concept as a foundation of the nation's space strategy. By 2009, the new station was seen as the cornerstone of a new space exploration plan, which extended four decades into the 21st century. The ambitious program apparently included manned missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
According to Wikipedia, these would be the objectives of OPSEK:

Overview

Before the predicted decommissioning of the International Space Station in the 2020s, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) plans to detach some of its modules, such as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (which has not yet launched to the ISS), and use them as the basis for a new space station.

On 17 June 2009, Roscosmos officially informed its ISS partner, the United States, about its intention to "build and prepare for operation the first elements of the orbital assembly and experimental piloted space complex by the end of the ISS life cycle."

According to the Russian manned spaceflight contractor RKK Energia, the new station must be able to perform the following tasks:

- Large spacecraft assembly

- Flight tests and launches

- Creating, servicing and completing inter-orbital tugs

- Providing medical and biological conditions required for the rehabilitation of interplanetary expedition crews after their return to Earth orbit.

Thank You VERY MUCH for your post, Endovelico.

Thanks for the update.

Glad that Russia plans to keep its manned space program going despite problems here on Earth.....
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