04.11.2014 Segodnya
Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

To mark the International Day of Human Space Flight, Segodnya finds out about Ukraine’s achievements in space.

Tsyklon-4, Ukrainian carrier rocket. Scheduled for launch at the end of 2015.

Since its independence, Ukraine has launched 132 rocket vehicles that were designed and made domestically, and 28 space vehicles designed by our scientists have been placed into low-earth orbit. One of our recent major achievements is a unique upper-stage engine for the European Vega rocket vehicle, which was developed by the Yuzhnoe Space Design Bureau and Yuzhny Machine Building Plant. [Incidentally,] this rocket bears the name of the second brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere, Antares, and can be used to place smaller satellites into polar orbits and collect new data about space. Since 2012 there have been two successful launches of Vega from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

“It was an obvious success for Ukraine to take part in the development of the Antares, the American expendable launch system,” says Alexander Degtyarev, the general director of the Yuzhnoe Design Bureau. “A group of Ukrainian enterprises created the first-stage engine for this new spacecraft that can be used to launch payloads to the International Space Station. Since April 2013 Antares has made three successful launches from Wallops Island, off the Eastern Shore of Virginia, USA.”

Sich-2

This Ukrainian satellite was placed into low-Earth orbit in August 2011 in order to photograph the Earth’s surface. In over one year it took around 1400 photographic images before communication with the satellite ceased in December 2012.

Tsyklon-4

An important achievement to strengthen Ukraine’s reputation as a space power was the development of a new expendable launch system at the Alcantara Launch Centre, Brazil, from where the new Ukrainian carrier rocket Tsyklon-4 will be launched. “Construction has been in progress since 2010,” says the Head of the Ukrainian Space Agency Yuriy Alexeev.

Alexander Degtyarev adds that “78 Ukrainian companies are taking part in the project, which has created more than 10,000 Ukrainian jobs. The launch of Tsyklon-4 is scheduled for late 2015, where it is planned that the rocket will be used to launch the space vehicle Microsat. Construction is nearing completion, with ground testing to begin soon. With Microsat, we will be able to predict natural distasters.”

Our future

Ukraine has successfully developed and built the Mayak family of launch vehicles, which are unique in that they are environmentally friendly. Another family of Ukrainian rockets–the Zenit–uses non-toxic liquid oxygen and kerosene fuels.

Aditionally, a rapidly growing Brazil has seen a strategic partnership in Ukraine. For a number of years, Brazil, a rapidly growing economic power, had attempted to build its own rockets, but after an unfortunate accident involving fatalities, Brazil abandoned the idea and turned to Ukraine. All project costs are shared equally and so far total investment in the project has reached $500M. This will provide Ukraine with a much needed launch site for its space systems.

Source: Segodnya.ua