The project involves the launch of two-stage rockets with payloads of up to 3.5 tonnes from An-124-100 Ruslan heavy transport planes.

Karpov noted that the first stage of the rocket would use NK-33 engines, which were produced in the Soviet Union under the so-called lunar program and have gone through on-ground testing.

The second state will use a modified version of the engine, which has for a long time been used in the DM booster unit produced by Energiya. Both engines use ecologically clean fuel - oxygen and kerosene.

Vozdushny Start was sounded by the aviation concern Polyot (Voronezh), Energiya (Korolyov, Moscow region), Antonov Aviation Complex (Kiev), the Pilyugin Institute (Moscow) and Progress Rocket-Space Center (Samara).

According to expert estimates, $120 million - $130 million in investment is needed to implement the Vozdushny Start project. With regular launches, the project would begin to pay for itself in three years.

According to specialists, the Vozdushny Start idea is being developed in other countries also, particularly by Boeing.

However, the Russian variant is more realistic, according to experts, as the Ruslan plane already exists. The project also uses components that are already in use in current space projects.

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SPACE-SHIP.COM
Vozdushny Begins Design Of New Airlauncher
Moscow (Interfax) May 10, 2000 - Russian aerospace corporation Vozdushny Start (Air Launch) has begun designing a system for launching satellites and other payloads into orbit using boosters fired from a transport plane in flight.