A study on the appraisal of the DIANA/BURLAK space transportation system Final report

This Technical Report is related to the air launched DIANA/BURLAK space transportation system for small satellites and scientific payloads. The findings and results have been obtained within a study about this system performed by a joint German/Russian team, and funded by the German Space Agency DARA. The DIANA/BURLAK space transportation system is a two-stage-to-orbit launcher, composed of the Russian supersonic aircraft TUPLEV TU-160 as lower stage launch vehicle, carrying a two-stage rocket as upper stage to insert the payload into a low earth orbit. Thus this concept belongs to the category of multi-stage, partially reusable space launchers with a horizontal take-off and landing of the lower stage. This type of launch concept has become well-known by the US American air launched space transportation system PEGASUS. A special feature of the DIANA/BURLAK space transportation system is that the separation of lower and upper stage is performed in the supersonic speed regime, enabling the system to bring up to about 1100 Kg payload into a low earth orbit by the liquid-fuel two-stage rocket. This Technical Report covers the technical, operational and industrial aspects of the space transportation system with emphasis on the system features, mission and performances, and the launch service organization. Furthermore the applicability of the system to offer a launch service to western customers are considered with respect to its competitors, to the potential market, and how to capture this market by the new system. This question is coupled with the enonomic viability of the space transportation system which will be outlined including cost estimates and profitability aspects. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F96B1961+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany); Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA) GmbH, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman