Kvant

RKK Energia

RKK Energia proposed to develop an ecologically safe, light-class launch vehicle Kvant based on proved and highly reliable elements that have been designed and manufactured at enterprises of the Russian Federation. These are:

• oxygen-kerosene engines RD-120 used in LV Zenit, modified for the ground launch and installed on stage 1;

• upper stage DM-SL currently used in Integrated Launch Vehicle Zenit-3SL and modified to serve as stage 2;

• control system using high-frequency 3-axes gyrostabilized platform PV-300;

• payload fairing used for upper stage DM on LV Proton.

Launch vehicle Kvant of a launch mass of  275 t (core diameter 3.9 m) based on these elements could deliver to a reference orbit 200 km high the following payloads:

• from Plesetsk launch site - up to 4.7 t
• from Svobodny launch site - up to 5.1t
• from Tyuratam launch site - up to 5.2 t
• from Sea Launch complex - up to 5.8 t

Since 1996, RKK Energia and associated enterprises carried out design studies on the feasibility of developing a light-class launch vehicle Kvant-1 capable to deliver spacecraft from 1.8 to 3.0 t in mass to low orbits of the artificial Earth satellite.
The two-stage launch vehicle Kvant-1 (core diameter 2.7 m) was designed to burn ecologically safe propellants, liquid oxygen-kerosene, and arranged like LV Kvant. In new stage 1 the Soyuz LV core stage manufacturing technology was used. In the capacity of stage 2 it was proposed to use upper stage blok  LM. The stage 1 engine was derived from the available liquid-propellant engine RD-120M. The Molnya LV stage 3 engine was used for stage 2. The Kvant LV flight control system was based on the Yamal spacecraft flight control system. LV Kvant-1 with a launch mass of 83 t is capable to deliver the following payloads to a reference orbit 200 km high:

• from Plesetsk launch site - up to 1.75 t
• from Tyuratam launch site - up to 1.80 t
• from Sea Launch complex - up to 1.95 t