Updates Soyuz-ST launch complex in Kourou

[SiberianTiger]

21-12-2008 GSC Hardware to be Shipped from St. Petersburg Tomorrow

Launch systems, transport and installation device and other equipment provided by the Russian space industrial companies have been loaded today on the Flinterland ship in St. Petersburg`s marine port. Later on, the remaining containers with ground hardware to be mounted in the facilities which had been already constructed at Guiana Space Center will be loaded as well.

This equipment will be used to verify the Fregat upper stage for Soyuz-ST launch vehicle.

The following Russian space industrial entities were involved in preparation, preshipment and loading operations: KBOM Design Bureau, Lavochkin R&D company, TSKB-Progress R&D and manufacturing company, TSENKI subsidiary of St. Petersburg.

Gerard Bruno, Soyuz in GSC project director, was in the port to supervise the loading operations. He appreciated the efforts of the Russian partners. He stated: "The efforts of all people involved in this project will find successful completion in 2009... this year integration, tests and qualification activities for the maiden Soyuz launch from Guiana Space Center are to be finalized".

Flinterland departure from St. Petersburg is planned tomorrow. The ship should reach its destination in approximately two weeks.

D. Nasyirov, Roscosmos Press Office

 

[SiberianTiger]

23-12-2008 Flinterland Floats to Guiana Space Center

This night the Flinterland ship loaded with Russian equipment left the port of St. Petersburg. Now she is floating to the Kourou space port in French Guiana.
Totally, there are 95 containers and 51 uncontained cargo items aboard the ship. Flinterland is to reach its destination in two weeks.

Roscosmos Press Office

 

[Notebook]

Its going along nicely:-

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/de...4.42516&centery=59.77881&zoom=10&type_color=7

Edit:- Dosen't seem to be on the map, here's a generic page about the ship.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=246246000

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

15-01-2009 Russian Equipment Arrived at French Guiana

The equipment shipped by the Russian space industrial entites to French Guiana has been unloaded from the «Flinterland» ship, which reached the shore on Jan. 8.
Roscosmos Press Office (based on the information provided by Deputy Head of the technical directorate – Roscosmos / TSENKI representative in Guiana)

 

[SiberianTiger]

Some recent pictures (hi-res) of the Soyuz-ST launch complex under construction in Kourou (taken from Samara Space Centre's website):

 

[Notebook]

Its looking good; is the crane-driver practising his yoga in the last picture?

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Its looking good; is the crane-driver practising his yoga in the last picture?

N.

Yes in case you believe it's his legs behind his head.

 

[Notebook]

I tried that, I fell of the chair. Wasn't working a crane either...

N.

 

[cjp]

Wow.. weird to see a Russian-style launch complex in the jungle.

 

[Notebook]

Disregarding Crane_Mans laid back attitude, is there any good engineering reason why the jointing method of the elements is internal?
Wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to bolt them together using flanges on the mating faces?

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Disregarding Crane_Mans laid back attitude, is there any good engineering reason why the jointing method of the elements is internal?
Wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to bolt them together using flanges on the mating faces?

N.

'cause the Great and Terrible Vladimir Barmin designed it so in the grandeval times. No one dares to question the designs of the Ancestors. We can only make them worse.

---------- Post added at 15:30 ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 ----------

But seriously, this round detail must be the ring rail to turn the entire assembly on. The "old lady 7" can't do a roll program in flight, so it has to be rotated to a launch heading prior to a launch. That's why the ring can't have protruding flanges.

 

[Notebook]

With great respect to Vladimir Barmin , Who I'm just starting to look at his history!!

When you say "old lady 7" has a constraint on its azimuz? Is that an old hang-over from the Baikonour site, would that apply to the Kourou launch site?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

When you say "old lady 7" has a constraint on its azimuz? Is that an old hang-over from the Baikonour site, would that apply to the Kourou launch site?

No, he said that the R-7 launcher has no roll program. You need to rotate it on the launch pad to it's correct launch azimuth. Otherwise you have no technical limitations, of course, for Russia, you have the limitation of stage drop zones.

 

[Notebook]

Apologies to SiberianTiger.

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Apologies to SiberianTiger.

N.

No need for apologies. To the topic, I'd love to see the thing blasting off with palms in the background. By the way, the possible payload candidates for the first Soyuz LV launch from Kourou are:

• Globalstar-2, a mobile sat comms provider
• Pléiades-2, a remote sensing satellite
• LISA (ELISA), a radio reconnaissance satellite

 

[SiberianTiger]

Launch date is set for the first Soyuz-ST launch from Kourou, and that is December 28, 2009
Source: http://www.rian.ru/science/20090407/167367070.html

BTW, I was wrong in this thread saying that a Soyuz-ST LV doesn't have a roll program. This one does (unlike the rest of the family). So the launch complex is not going to be rotating to a launch azimuth.

 

[Notebook]

If this Soyuz-ST has a roll-program, will the launch pad be fixed in rotation, or might the launch pad be built as the Baikonur design?

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

If this Soyuz-ST has a roll-program, will the launch pad be fixed in rotation, or might the launch pad be built as the Baikonur design?

N.

It's going to be fixed.

 

[Notebook]

Shame, would have been nice to rotate the ELS(Baikonour)!

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Mounting the umbilical tower:

On the last pic, are they sure the lightning rod tower standing right in the fire pit is OK?