MOSCOW, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Space cooperation between Russia and Ukraine is one of the key aspects of the two countries' bilateral relations. It runs along common scientific and technological lines and is based on close production links established back in the Soviet era, when space rockets were first developed and operated. The scientific, design and production schools of the two countries, set up in the second half of the last century by many outstanding names in rocketry and aerospace, are closely interconnected.
Sergei Korolyov and Valentin Glushko were born in Ukraine, but spent practically all their careers in Russia. On the other hand, Mikhail Yangel and Vladimir Utkin were born in Russia, but most of their achievements are associated with Ukrainian design and production organizations.
Yangel, a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and the founder of Ukrainian rocket building, came to head OKB-586 -- today the Dnepropetrovsk State Design Bureau Yuzhnoye -- when it was formed in 1954 and remained its unchallenged leader and chief designer for 17 years until his death. Utkin, a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, succeeded him as chief designer.
Tasked with developing combat missiles, they purposefully took their teams from one product to another more advanced one: from their first design, the land-based R-12 missile, to modifications of the still unsurpassed RS-20 strategic intercontinental missile, better known as the Satan or SS-18, which was fired from an underground silo. Combat missiles developed at Yuzhnoye have given rise to launch vehicles still used to orbit spacecraft, including some as part of international programs.
It is interesting to note that more than 900 plants and enterprises, over 700 of them in Russia, contributed to the development of the Zenit rocket system, which is undoubtedly Yuzhnoye's most distinctive achievement.
Its first-stage engine was developed under Glushko's direction at the Energomash Research and Production Association in Khimki outside Moscow; its control system, at the Moscow Research and Production Center of Automatic Devices and Instrument Making under Nikolai Pilyugin, a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
The engine is still considered the world's best in its class. The control system places spacecraft in preset orbits with pinpoint accuracy. Glushko once joked that if a stick were fitted out with his engine and Pilyugin's control system, it would reach the Moon. A ground-based launch system developed at the Moscow Design Bureau of Transport Engineering ensures that the Zenit can be prepared and launched fully automatically, in the unassisted mode. This feature, an unassisted launch, is the reason this environmentally clean vehicle was chosen for one of the largest international space projects at the turn of the century - Sea Launch.
Another reason why the Zenit makes up the core of the project is that it is fitted out with an advanced booster -- actually, a third stage -- developed at the Korolyov Energia Rocket and Space Corporation. Between March 1999 and now, 22 successful launches have taken place under the Sea Launch program, including four in 2006. Soon, upgraded Zenits will lift off from the Baikonur space center as part of a joint Russian-Ukrainian project. All in all, Ukraine, with the help of its Russian partners, has developed seven types of launch vehicles from the Cosmos to the Zenit, which have orbited over 1,100 spacecraft.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Russian side, in addition to maintaining its traditional ties with the Ukrainian space industry, also sought to broaden them. Ukrainian firms remained full-fledged participants in the preparation and launching of Russian spacecraft, and bore full responsibility for the parts they installed. The Ukrainian side is interested in active cooperation no less than Russia. Zenit rockets manufactured by Yuzhmash have 72 percent of their components delivered from Russia. Moreover, Ukraine lacks its own space center, and practically all rockets and spaceware made in the country must be launched with Russian participation.
First of two parts
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(Yury Zaitsev is an analyst with the Russian Academy of Sciences' Space Research Institute. This article is reprinted by permission fo the RIA Novosti news agency. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)
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(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)
