Annotation: Despite stringent environmental requirements, modern launch vehicles/integrated launch vehicles (LV/ILV) burn toxic propellants such as NTO and UDMH. Typically, such propellants are used in the LV/ILV upper stages, where a small amount of propellant is contained; however, some LV/ILV still use such fuel in all sustainer propulsion stages. For launch vehicles containing toxic rocket propellants, flight accidents may result in the failed launch vehicle falling to the Earth’s surface, forming large zones of chemical damage to people (the zones may exceed blast and fire zones). This is typical for accidents occurring in the first stage flight segment, when an intact launch vehicle or its components (usually individual stages) with rocket propellants will reach the Earth’s surface. An explosion and fire following such an impact will most likely lead to a massive release of toxicant and contamination of the surface air. An accident during the flight segment of the LV/ILV first stage with toxic rocket propellants, equipped with a flight termination system that implements emergency engine shutdown in case of detection of an emergency situation, has been considered. To assess the risk of toxic damage to a person located at a certain point, it is necessary to mathematically describe the zone within which a potential impact of the failed LV/ILV will entail toxic damage to the person (the so-called zone of dangerous impact of the failed LV/ILV). The complexity of this lies in the need to take into account the characteristics of the atmosphere, primarily the wind. Using the zone of toxic damage to people during the fall of the failed launch vehicle, which is proposed to be represented by a combination of two figures: a semicircle and a half-ellipse, the corresponding zone of dangerous impact of the failed LV/ILV is constructed. Taking into account the difficulties of writing the analytical expressions for these figures during the transition to the launch coordinate system and further integration when identifying the risk, in practical calculations we propose to approximate the zone of dangerous impact of the failed LV/ILV using a polygon. This allows using a known procedure to identify risks. A generalization of the developed model for identifying the risk of toxic damage to people involves taking into account various types of critical failures that can lead to the fall of the failed LV/ILV, and blocking emergency engine shutdown during the initial flight phase. A zone dangerous for people was constructed using the proposed model for the case of the failure of the Dnepr launch vehicle, where the risks of toxic damage exceed the permissible level (10–6). The resulting danger zone significantly exceeds the danger zone caused by the damaging effect of the blast wave. Directions for further improvement of the model are shown, related to taking into account the real distribution of the toxicant in the atmosphere and a person’s exposure to a certain toxic dose.

Annotation: Presented is the theoretical justification of the phenomenon of the inertia initiation under accelerated motion of the body, and gravity origin in the circumterrestrial space. There is no description of the physical nature of the inertia and gravity in the scientific publications. In the phenomenological approach under study, allowing for reflection properties of the space, earlier unknown interdependent information-physical link of the body and its mechanical particles with space under the accelerated motion was determined in the state of rest of the gravitation field as well as in the state of weightlessness. Alongside with the environment, eigenspace, i.e. configuration space of the body and corresponding metric lines of the space are considered. Idea of metric lines agrees with the concept of F. Wilczek, the American physicist, Nobel-Prize laureate, on the existence of the unobservable metric field in the real space. Solution of the problem rests on the example of the cantilever beam and mathematical model of the information reflection process, which for the first time takes into consideration previously unknown property of space reflection. Under the accelerated motion of the body reflection gains the acceleration vector dt d а     . In this case reflection manifests itself in the initiation of the beam of polarization vector under study   ~ in every point of the configuration space and is expressed as     ~ а . Value of the polarization vector equals the value of acceleration vector with negative sign. As a result metric lines of the configuration space under conditions of beam acceleration become polarized lines, generating vector information inertia field. Interaction of mechanical particles with the information inertia field in the configuration space generates physical inertia field of force, providing the real inertia under accelerated motion of the beam. (Relatively slow motion of bodies is studied as compared to the speed of light). According to the set forth unconventional approach the nature of the earth gravity is conditioned by the polarization of the radial metric lines of the circumterrestrial space. And polarization vector is directed to the center of the Earth and equals acceleration vector of the free fall with the same sign. Interaction of the body with specific mass with the vector information field of the Earth generates the physical force field of gravity. Article deals with the fundamental issues of theoretical physics and other fields of natural science. Materials of the conducted research are regarded as a potential scientific discovery.

Annotation: The comparison has been made of mechanical characteristics based on yield strength values of prospective aluminum alloys and steels with the stresses arising in pipeline parts. The conclusions have been drawn about the principal feasibility of manufacturing the pipelines of given materials and replacing the steels with the high-strength aluminum alloys for majority of the parts.

Annotation: When accomplishing the task of spacecraft orbital injection, the necessity arises of main engine multiple ignitions and consequently, long pauses between the ignitions are possible. As the propellant during pauses between ignitions is in the conditions of practically full absence of gravitation and can freely move over entire tank volume taking practically any spatial position, to ensure main engine guaranteed ignition the necessity arises to move the propellant into pre-start position. The propellant is moved to the supply lines by way of creating longitudinal acceleration which is done using inertial continuity ensuring means (thrusters). The time of full liquid displacement from one position into another is the most important parameter having an impact on propellant amount in the tanks and accordingly, on power characteristics of a stage. The theoretical calculations of hydrodynamic processes are connected with considerable mathematical difficulties caused by complexity of solving hydrodynamic problems of determination of liquid flowing with free surface taking into account surface tension of the liquid and many other geometrical, kinematic, and dynamic factors. Therefore, the most reliable data from solving these problems are currently obtained only on model hydrodynamic stands where it is possible to model liquid behavior in tanks in the conditions of variable gravitation. The paper presents the authors-developed procedure of calculating the full time required for propellant components deposition during rocket’s apogee stage flight and the procedure of selecting the modeling parameters (scale, time, and acсeleration) to ensure development testing in the conditions of limited test stand base. The use of the proposed procedure allows (in initial phase of launch vehicle development) determining the full time required to perform deposition with sufficient accuracy and thus optimizing the propellant mass required for operation of inertial continuity ensuring system, which in its turn, will allow increasing the payload mass to be injected.