Annotation: Over the past years, the leading space powers have been returning to the idea of expeditions to the Moon and actively designing and manufacturing components for inhabited lunar bases. Yuzhnoye State Design Office has its own concept of a lunar base and, of course, cannot stand aside from the solution of scientific and technical problems related to the Moon exploration. Specialists of Yuzhnoye SDO completed conceptual development of a significant range of technologies required for the Moon exploration: a space transportation system for lunar expeditions; landers to deliver payloads to the surface of the Moon and transport experimental equipment; mobile laboratories; a reconnaissance rover to provide reconnaissance missions on the surface of the Moon; vehicles to provide lifting and transport, assembly and construction, production and technological and soil extraction work on the surface of the Moon; habitat units and other elements of the lunar infrastructure. Taking into account the high costs of lunar exploration, it is clear that international cooperation is the most realistic scenario for Yuzhnoye SDO to participate in the exploration. The U.S. lunar program is the most attractive. Private companies that NASA selects for the lunar programs can become partners of Yuzhnoye. With a view to ensuring the participation of Yuzhnoye SDO in international programs, the current state of global technologies for the Moon exploration was analyzed and opportunities to promote technologies developed by Ukrainian specialists on the international market of space technologies were identified based on the analysis. Taking into account the high level of technologies developed by the potential partners, it is proposed for the first time to consider it advisable to promote Yuzhnoye’s technologies with TRL 6–9 which have already been successfully tested and the innovative technologies developed by the company which have no analogues in the world or surpass the world level in terms of their technological and economic performance. Based on the analysis of the Lunar Industrial & Research Base conceptual design, such technologies may include rocket propulsion, units and assemblies of liquid-propellant propulsion (TRL 6–9), as well as future designs such as a hydrogen energy accumulator and inert anodes made of ultra-high-temperature ceramics for electrolysis of regolith melts.

Annotation: Specialized design office for liquid engines was established on July 22, 1958 to develop engines and propulsion systems, powered by liquid propellants to be installed on the combat missile systems and integrated launch vehicles (LV), developed by Yuzhnoye SDO. Moreover, liquid engines design office was assigned with manufacturing and testing of the main rocket engines, developed by NPO Energomash and to be installed on Yuzhnoye-developed launch vehicles. Over the past 66 years Yuzhnoye SDO has developed more than 40 liquid rocket engines (LRE) of various purpose, designed both to gas-generator cycle and to staged combustion cycle. Seventeen of them were commercially produced by Yuzhmash PA and installed on launch vehicles. Nowadays Yuzhnoye propulsion experts keep working on development of the advanced liquid rocket engines powered both by cryogenic and hypergolic propellants, which satisfy the majority of launch service market demands. Within the framework of extensive cooperation with foreign space companies, on a contract basis, Yuzhnoye propulsion experts are working on the design and development testing of the liquid rocket engines, as well as their components. The accumulated vast experience in the development of liquid rocket engines nowadays enables high scientific and technical level in the creation of up-to-date engines, demanded in the world market. Significant steps in this area have been made by the experts from the Yuzhnoye propulsion division and then subsequent manufacture and delivery by Yuzhmash PA of the engine intended for the European rocket Vega Stage 4; and designing the individual components for the engines with thrusts ranging from 500 kgf to 200 tf ordered by foreign customers. This article provides the review of current and scheduled activities of the Yuzhnoye SDO to develop the liquid rocket engines within the thrust ranges from ~ 40 kgf to ~ 500 tf.

Annotation: This paper in brief presents the history of cooperation between the Yuzhnoye State Design Office (YSDO) and University’s applied-physics faculty focused on drawing the enterprise specialists to teaching activity at the faculty, and University graduates – to work at the enterprise. Interchange of personnel throughout three periods is analyzed: a) in the remote past (early 1950s – late 1980s); b) watershed years at the turn of millennia (early 1990s – mid 2010s) and c) nowadays (from mid 2010s). Forecast attempt for the near future is also made. Active participation of the outstanding YSDO specialists in the organization and education at the faculty, especially at the first stage of cooperation, is shown. In particular, Y. A. Smetanin, YSDO Deputy General Designer, was the head of department №1, N. S. Shnyakin was the head of department №2, department №3 was chaired by N. F. Gerasyuta – Head of Dynamics, Ballistics and Control Department in YSDO. At that period faculty trained annually all in all ~300 young specialists for Yuzhnoye State Design Office. Great deal of problems and new challenges, which emerged in watershed 1990s, are described. Despite this, close cooperation between the YSDO and faculty was basically maintained. Thus, for example, for several years S. N. Konyukhov, YSDO General Designer, chaired the state examination board on defence of graduation works of the department №1 students. At the same time, number of aerospace specialties graduates this period has sharply decreased to 35 graduates. The present state of affairs, causing concern, is shown. Actual admission rate for the aerospace specialties for the past years suggests that starting with 2022, number of graduates for Yuzhnoye State Design Office can practically reduce to nothing.