Project Energia 5V Heavy Launch Vehicle

N_Molson

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By the way I'm searching a good Blok-D cutaway, if possible with dimensions... I'm sure something like that must exist somewhere...

The schematic I have on page 1 for the whole Energia 5V rocket writes "18.6 tons" for the "MOB-DM" which is consistent with the Blok DM-03 18.7 tons.
 
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By the way I'm searching a good Blok-D cutaway, if possible with dimensions... I'm sure something like that must exist somewhere...

The schematic I have on page 1 for the whole Energia 5V rocket writes "18.6 tons" for the "MOB-DM" which is consistent with the Blok DM-03 18.7 tons.
You should find something if you search for info on the N1.
 

N_Molson

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So it should be something like that, though I'm still unsure what version of the DM we are really dealing with :



That page sums up the whole Blok D evolution very well :


... with the lattice structure, I'd say its looking good :



A total of 10 "V"s, the trick was that the torus tank is slightly tilted by ~3° (I think it has to do with fuel flow and making sure the last droplet goes to the engine), which means the structure has no obvious symmetry.
 
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N_Molson

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Done with the inner lattice structure. Phew.



So we now have a rather accurate (in terms of size and proportions) Blok D model. But the Blok D has a propellant mass of ~14 tons, and on the Energia 5V schematic I posted on the first page we have in russian "Wet mass = 18.6 tons". It means we are dealing with the Blok DM-03, which is an expanded Blok D. What are those "tank expansions ?". Simple, cylinders you insert between the torus and sphere hemispheres.

Here we go :



One of the best pics I could find, this is a DM-03 :

block-dm-soz-2.jpg


It seems that the spherical tank is wrapped in some kind of MLI. If someone has a hi-res version of it, I'm more than interested !

... front view with moar lattice and the spacecraft adapter (that where we're going to mate the PTK Service Module - or the lander -, finally we're reaching the top of the mountain !) :

 
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N_Molson

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The tug fits nicely into its shroud, the good thing is that the "standard" 4.1 meters diameter (the bottom part) matches the Energia 5 other stages. That diameter is an heirloom from the Proton rocket (the Zenit, which also uses the Blok D, has a "special" shroud matching its thinner 3.9 meters diameter).



Now let's add the wiring, connect it with the lower stage and also add a couple of fuel ducts connecting the tanks and the RD-58. The wiring is a bit more complex here, because it comes from the rocket hull (the fairing/shroud) and has to go through the DM himself to the payload above. Note that some of the DM electronics (stuff related to navigation) is located inside the foremost black torus (which also is the payload interface).
 
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N_Molson

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So, from the various documentation on Anatoly Zak's website (I bought the 50$ pass, couldn't resist !) :

The pressure vessel is the second section from the top. This is the latest, 2020 design. Engines are a pair of s5.92 (Fregat upper stages use a single one). The spacecraft should have a Dv of more or less 1300 m/s, enough for the TEI burn and MCCs on the return trip.

 
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N_Molson

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I modeled an APAS mesh some time ago, and I even found back it after exploring the abyss of my hard drives. A scary journey, but fruitful. ?

So if I scale it, I end with a tunnel of 850 mm of diameter. Fits rather well, as the documents about the PTK I have mention a minimum clearance of 800 mm.



With the Docking Adapter + Descent Module + Agregate Module + Heat Shield assembled :



Note that the Agregate Module will stay with the Descent Module. Agregate Module describes the unpressurized section of the capsule that houses RCS thrusters and tanks, some batteries, a landing gear and landing rockets. Like with the Soyuz, the Heat Shield is jettisoned during the parachute descent, which reveals the Agregate Module bottom, then the landing gear deploys. A nominal landing should be on land (Russia has plenty of that), and the expected precision is more or less 2 kilometers.
 
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N_Molson

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Found a great infographic about the PTK (in spanish), lot of useful data :

9c8d131dd87aee01829cd47c19d256a0.png


Pressure vessel with portholes and main hatch :



Oops no its not the main hatch but the parachutes container & hatch !



So here's the actual hatch, much smaller (roughly 1 meter x 1 meter) :

 
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N_Molson

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Folded solar panels, took me a while to figure what kind of hinges I needed to have them fold properly... I'm learning basic mechanics ! That being said I'm glad the 2020 PTK design simplified the solar panels layout ! Also added the "orbital manoeuvering" (DOM) thruster blocks, mostly for translation I guess.



 

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... and redone the whole thing, as I somehow managed to lose myself between the various designs ?‍♂️

Radiators have been extended, the solar array mechanism is completely redone, added a retro thruster. Also I modeled the long-range comms antenna/dish (might be useful for those lunar missions). Should now be consistent with Anatoly Zak's latest renders (2020).

Next the rendez-vous antenna, star trackers, rework of the aft bulkhead and the umbilical.

 

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The umbilical was a bit tricky (in the 2016 design it connected the Service Module to the pressure vessel, in the 2020 design it was shortened and now connects the Service Module to the Agregate Module). Still have to think about the release mechanism (I have a small drawing, but little more). But I'd say we're getting there, some details are still missing but it begins to look like an actual spacecraft. Also the PTK has recently been renamed "Орёл" (Eagle), because some Vladimir found that the previous name, "Федерация" (Federation) sounded too feminine - in Russian the -ия suffix is the syntax mark of feminine. So they asked "the people of Russia" for a name and "Eagle" came out of it. Not very creative, but I guess it serves the purpose ?





Getting used to the Blender "parenting" function was a major breakthrough for me. It has its own limits, but still, really something you have to know, especially when dealing with animated parts like solar panels.
 
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N_Molson

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A few shading issues, but I'd say the result is acceptable. Of course there will be more work on the Descent Module, including the interior. Right now it will be enough to fly a test article. Proceed to vehicle integration !

 

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The Blok-DM03/PTK lunar "train" in Orbiter, quite an assembly we have here ! That's the configuration you should have after TLI burn.



Also I tested the whole stack assembled, no FPS issues despite the ungodly amount of triangles. My rig is 5 years-old, so I think we're good.

So the only parts missing for a Lunar Orbit mission are :

  • a shroud for the Blok DM03/PTK adapter
  • a shroud for the PTK Service Module (well, did most of it in Blender already)
  • the LES

The way I see it, the PTK and Adapter shroud should each be made of 2 halves, and separate in sequence during the ascent (because all those shrouds and adapters are going to be kinda heavy !).
 
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N_Molson

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Got almost everything assembled in Orbiter... Each stage, each fairing panel is a separate vessel, and all are docked together in a crazy assembly.

I'll add the escape tower tomorrow. After that I'll go back to coding, the good thing is that all the "parts" currently have a VS project that compiles. So I'll be able to focus on adding/completing features like thrust vectoring, which is all the fun. When I'll have a stack that flies well, I'll dig into texturing, which is going quite a lot of work too. I'll have to spend some time on the PTK cockpit too. For now I'll focus on the Lunar Orbit mission hardware in order to release a "first tier" of the addon as quickly as possible. Then I'll make the lunar lander and maybe the other version of the rocket.

So yes, I have some kind of roadmap. ?

 

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So turns out the SAS tower is another quite complex thing and actually a two-stages rocket on its own ! The 4 main engines modeled here jettison early with most of the tower. The base that has smaller engines is kept until Orbit Insertion. There are several abort modes, from launchpad extraction to Abort-to-Orbit (the PTK, especially in the lunar configuration, has 1300 m/s of Delta-V that can be used for such Abort-to-Orbit scenarios).

 
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