Polyet airline, based in Voronezh, Central Russia, took delivery of a third ex-RusAF An-124 Ruslan heavy weight air lifter last month. The airplane was ferried from Sesche AFB in Bryanks to Ulianovsk-Vostochny aerodrome by military crew headed by A.Vinokurov, commader of the Bryanks Regiment. Then the aircraft was towed to Aviastar factory, the Ruslan manufacturer, for repair and conversion from military to civilian (An-124-100) variant.

In May-June this year Polyet received two ex-RusAF Ruslans, which are currently under work at Aviastar. The airline expects to get a fourth ex-military airframe within the next two months (currently this airplane is being put back into an airworthy condition at Sesche AFB).

Polyet general director Anatoly Karpov confessed that the work on ex-RusAF aircraft might take much time, one or even two years, reflecting the airplanes' poor condition and difference between the Ruslan military and civil versions. To enable the airplane fly international routes, they will be outfitted with hushkits, global positioning systems, 8.33 kHz spacing communications radios and accurate vertical separation equipment.

The ex-RusAF airplanes have been handed over to Polyet in accordance with Russian Government' order 1702-r dated 1 Dec 1998. The order instructs the MoD to hand over to Polyet four Ruslans to be used for operations on conveyance of rocketry-space hardware and development of Air Launch system. Air Launch is a commercial project with certain state support. It calls for creation and fielding of a system capable of placing light satellites into low orbits using a launch vehicle deployed from airborne Ruslan carrier aircraft.

When flying as a carrier aircraft, the Ruslan shall deliver a launch vehicle (in a container) to an altitude of 10-11 km. Upon reaching the assigned point, the airplane begin to climb so as to release the rocket container with a specified g-load factor. After being dropped from the aircraft, the rocket has its engines ignited after 5-10 seconds of free fall.

In that system the carrier aircraft replaces the first stage of a ground-based launch vehicle. The latter normally makes up 60% of launch cost and is in many cases disposable. Using aircraft in the role of the first rocket stage reduces the overall cost of satellite deployment operation. Net cost of placing a 3-tonne payload into orbit would translate into a relative price of $2-3 thousand per kilo. Air Launch plans to sell these services at an equivalent of $5-7 thousand per kilo, depending on technical and commercial terms of a respective contract. This compares well with $25-30 thousands per kilo for the existing expandable rocket systems and 7-10 thousand targeted for Sea Launch.

The Air Launch two-stage rocket booster shall be capable of placing a 3300 kg payload into low orbit with inclination of 63 degrees. Creation of this rocket will take the major portion in the estimated $120-130 million research-and-development effort in frame of Air Launch project. The rocket will use well-tried components, such as the NK-43M and 11D58M first and second stage engines respectively (those have demonstrated reliability in actual launches and ground fire tests in excess of 0.998). First launch, with a dummy or non-commercial payload, is planned for 2003.

Anatoly Karpov, who, in addition to being Polyet general director, also acts as a chairman of Air Launch corporation, is very optimistic about the airplane's prospects as an element in Air Launch system. He told AWN that as the technology progresses, new types of compact satellites will be developed. This should create a substantial demand in low-cost services of placing small payloads into low orbits. Kaprov's estimate is that by 2015 as many as 3000 small low-orbit satellites can be manufactured. Air Launch corporation hopes to seize a 40% of light satellite launch service market, which would require 4-5 launch operations a week.

Polyet fleet, now of six Ruslans plus one due to deliver, might be further increased by that time to be able to handle these numbers.