A promising Russian launch vehicle, which is being created according to the Krylo-SV project, can be equipped not only with wheels, but also with skis. The latter will allow her to sit on the ground.
In Russia, they are increasingly talking about the creation of a reusable launch vehicle, which is seen as a kind of response to SpaceX's Falcon 9. Now it became known that the Krylo-SV rocket can get an original landing system, which assumes the possibility of using skis.
Boris Satovsky, the head of the experimental design bureau named after Bartini TsNIIMash, spoke about the features of the rocket on the YouTube channel of the Faculty of Aerophysics and Space Research of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
Work on the Wing-SV launch vehicle started several years ago. In February last year, the Scientific and Technical Council of the Advanced Research Foundation decided to start developing a flight demonstrator.
Krylo-SV is seen as a reusable cruise stage of a light-class launch vehicle. It will be six meters long and 0.8 meters in diameter. It is assumed that the rocket will be able to reach hypersonic speed - up to M = 6. The carrier will receive a new engine called the Whirlwind.
The concept of using the rocket is as follows: after the second stage is separated, the first must return to the ground using the wings and the engine. It should be said that experts are ambivalent about this approach. According to Vitaly Egorov, a specialist in the field of the rocket and space industry and a popularizer of science, the use of the chosen scheme will not make the rocket economical.
Recall that last year it became known about the approval in Russia of the development of a project for a reusable launch vehicle that uses methane as fuel. According to one of the sources, the design work was assigned the code Amur-LNG. The rocket should receive a reusable first stage that will land using its engines.
At the same time, Russia is not abandoning the creation of super-heavy carriers that could be used to explore deep space. Recently it became known about the development of the concept of rockets capable of launching cargo weighing up to 200 tons into orbit.
As for the Yenisei rocket specifically, which they want to use for flights to the Moon, its prospects are still vague. Note, however, that not so long ago, Russian experts have identified a new look for this carrier.