FIELD: rocket and space technology.
SUBSTANCE: recoverable upper stage of a two-stage launch vehicle contains a body, main and launch tanks of oxidizer and fuel, a payload nose compartment with an opening lid, a tail compartment with a methane propulsion rocket engine nozzle protruding beyond it, and controllable upper and lower aerodynamic surfaces. Heat-protective tiles are available. The tail compartment is hermetically sealed with a conical fairing and a conical bellows, which are covered by a cylindrical heat shield. Landing of the upper stage after issuing a braking impulse to deorbit while moving in the Earth's atmosphere is carried out due to braking by the stage body with a given angle of the stage position to the velocity vector of the incoming air flow, activation of the sustainer rocket engine and the maneuver of turning the stage into a vertical position immediately before landing in a freshwater pool and subsequent turning the stage into a stable horizontal position.
EFFECT: landing of the returnable upper stage is achieved.
4 cl, 1 dwg
