New Russian PTK-Orel Pilotable Spacecraft Finally Shown

The state of construction of the Russian space station ROS and the new spaceship Orel was reviewed during a meeting held on Oct. 21, 2024, at the RKK Energia facilities.

Representing Roscosmos were Yuri Borisov, Director General; Sergei Krikalev, Chief Advisor and Federal Representative for International Cooperation; Vladimir Solovyov, Head of the Human Flight Sector, as well as the federal space agency’s main contractors and some cosmonauts.

Cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky beside the KO/VA section at Energia facility. Credit: RKK Energia — *Cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky beside the KO/VA section at Energia facility. Credits: RKK Energia*

By reiterating the roadmap for the launch of the NEM module in 2027 using the A5M version of the Angara launcher, the close collaboration between the space vehicles’ end users, the cosmonauts themselves, and the companies involved in the project was also established. However, the meeting was an opportunity to see, for the first time, the components of the new PTK-Orel (Eagle) piloted vehicle in various stages of construction.

What they showed

Up until now, only a few mock-ups and a flight simulator had been seen of the spacecraft destined to replace the glorious Soyuz, in service since 1968.

Although the project was periodically revised to adapt to the changing budget availability for the project, with the formalization of the roadmap for the construction of the ROS, the development of the Orel has accelerated.

The inner DO module. Credit: RKK Energia — *The inner DO module. Credits: RKK Energia*

For the first time, the propulsion module (DO from the Russian Dvigatelny Otsek) and various examples, intended for dynamic and static tests, of the habitation section (KO from the Russian Kommandy Otsek) were shown, which integrates the reentry section and the area intended for the crew to stay in space.

The module containing the support equipment (AO from the Russian Agregatnyy Otsek) with the characteristic legs for soft landing was also seen.

A component that, in the various versions of the project studied, was not certain to be implemented in the final release.

The AO section with the landing legs. Credit: RKK Energia — *The AO section with the landing legs. Credits: RKK Energia*

Among the cosmonauts, Oleg Novitskij recently returned from his fourth mission on the ISS, and we remember among the protagonists of the film, partially shot in orbit, “The Challenge”.

“Only a cosmonaut with flight experience can show how the future spacecraft should be equipped”, he said, stigmatizing the importance of the role that future users of the new vehicle have in the development of its ergonomic components.

Also worth highlighting is the role of Oleg Artemyev in the simulator sessions to optimize all the components of the internal digital avionics and the testing of the new versions of the Sokol suits.

Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev inside the Orel simulator in Star City testing a new version of Sokol suit. Credit: Roscosmos — *Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev inside the Orel simulator in Star City testing a new version of Sokol suit. Credits: Roscosmos*

What will the Orel be like

The scheme essentially follows that of the American Orion or the Chinese Mengzhou and the Indian Gaganyaan: a conical-shaped habitation section (KO/VA), also intended for the crew’s re-entry, a service module (AO) with the landing structure, a heat shield, the engine section (DO) and the solar panels as well as the docking system.

The Orel spacecraft. Credit: Roscosmos — *The Orel spacecraft. Credits: Roscosmos*

For this last component, if initially Russians were oriented towards maintaining the classic androgynous SSVP mechanism typical of the Soyuz and Progress, the elimination of the limitations due to the application of an enveloping aerodynamic fairing, made them prefer the adoption of a non-androgynous system (APAS) compatible with the IDS (International docking system) in use by the USA, China and India and which, it should be remembered, is a Russian-American patent derived from the systems of the Apollo-Soyuz mission, first, and the Shuttle-Mir, later.

All this, for a launch weight of 17.8 tons and the transport capacity of 2 to 6 cosmonauts. The PTK-Orel can be reused up to 10 times.

Variants

Several variants are being studied for the Orel.

The original project envisaged that the spacecraft, like the Orion, would be intended for flights to and from the Moon; therefore equipped with a more advanced heat shield capable of withstanding reentries from the second space velocity (11.2 km/s).

But scaled versions were also considered for different needs such as flights to and from the ROS and adaptable to lighter class launchers than the Angara A5P.

The version intended for the ROS, for example, will be equipped with a redesigned propulsion section capable of being implemented with an additional cargo section (DGO), positioned at the end of the DO module, equipped with its autonomous docking system and which can be separated from the rest of the ship.

The Orel-ROS version: Credit: Russianspaceweb — *The Orel-ROS version: Credits: Russianspaceweb*

Another version under study, which would avoid the use of a super-heavy launcher (Yenisei) for flights into lunar orbit, is the so-called Orelok, or eaglet.

This is a lighter version, without the AO section and therefore the landing leg system, capable of carrying two cosmonauts into lunar orbit. For such a mission, with such a lighter vehicle (8.2 tons), two Angara A5P launches one with the Orel and the other with the propulsion module for insertion into the translunar trajectory.

For flights to the ROS, given the peculiar orbital inclination (about 97° on the Equator), the Orel will be launched exclusively from Vostochny using the Angara A5P launcher. The light version Orelok can also be launched, towards more equatorial orbits, also from Baikonur using the future medium launcher Soyuz-5.

The first flight of the new spacecraft is scheduled for 2027-2028, in conjunction with the scheduled launch of the NEM module, the first brick of the national space station ROS.