Russia has stopped the technical design of a super-heavy rocket for flights to the moon, but it is possible that work may resume after the program is clarified. This was announced by Dmitry Baranov, General Director of the Samara Rocket and Space Center (RSC) Progress, RIA Novosti reports.
“In the Progress RCC, work on the STK Elements (super-heavy missile – RBK ) project has indeed been stopped,” he said.
As the agency clarified, the development work of the “Elements of STK” provided for the development of key elements and technologies for creating a space rocket complex of the super-heavy class, including for flights to the moon.
According to Baranov, the work was stopped at the technical design stage. At the same time, he did not rule out that in the future, the corresponding work could be resumed, if such a decision is made by Roskosmos.
Earlier, Roskosmos suspended the development of the Yenisei super-heavy lunar rocket, which was planned to be completed by 2028. Baranov then specified that it was necessary to correct her appearance, which could take several months.
In January, the Space Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences recommended postponing the creation of a super-heavy rocket and instead using existing models for flights to the moon. The Russian Academy of Sciences explained that the new rocket will need “a fundamentally new main engine”, “new, lightweight materials for shells and fuel tanks”, as well as “new low-cost production with minimized overhead costs with well-thought-out logistics for delivering finished products to the cosmodrome.”
In October last year, the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, called the new lunar race between space powers, including between Russia and the United States, senseless. “I think that the future conquest of the moon will not be able to be nationalized by any one country, they will not do without us,” he said.
