How it works
Operating cycle
How StarRoad proceeds from launch preparation to orbital operations, landing and servicing.
Preparation Launch chamber Preparing the shuttle, accelerator, gateway and magnetic levitation. Expand stage
The loaded shuttle is placed in the launch chamber near Batanga. Its onboard systems are tested first, followed by the accelerator systems and a pre-launch test of the gas-dynamic gateway. The onboard superconductors are energised, magnetic levitation is started and checked, and the tunnel is evacuated. On command, pulsed power begins flowing to the accelerator's initial segments.
Acceleration Evacuated maglev tunnel Accelerating to about 11 km/s while transitioning from 4g to inertial motion. Expand stage
- 0–330 km. Initial longitudinal acceleration is about 4g. A substantial share of the energy supports levitation and overcomes gravity.
- 330–about 1,800 km, the descending part of the S-curve. Longitudinal acceleration falls smoothly from the initial 4g to zero. The shuttle follows the underground curves under loads of up to about 4g, while surrounding electromagnetic elements stabilise its path.
- About 1,800–2,050 km, the ascending part of the S-curve. Acceleration falls to zero as the gateway approaches. The shuttle coasts at about 11 km/s for the final 50 km.
Gateway Vacuum-to-atmosphere transition Sequential activation of the gas-dynamic barrier and mechanical closure. Expand stage
Because the launch point is high, the shuttle is already more than 10 km above sea level about 30 km from the gateway, minimising the shock wave's effect on the surrounding area. The gateway belts are test-fired one minute before the shuttle launches, without opening the mechanical closure. After the shuttle has covered 45% of the tunnel, compressed air accumulated while the last tunnel section was evacuated is released through the gateway belts as a supersonic flow. About 10 seconds before passage, hydrogen is supplied and the gas-dynamic barrier enters its main combustion mode, producing a stable conical supersonic flow of hot, partially ionised gas. Three seconds after successful belt activation and formation of the hot barrier-gradient cone, the mechanical closure opens.
The barrier also prevents loss of tunnel vacuum and moderates the initial thermal shock. In milliseconds, the shuttle crosses the prepared zone of rarefied, heated gas. This key technology changes the timing of the first aerodynamic load by removing the ultrashort shock front that would otherwise occur when the medium changes.
The gas-dynamic barrier does not reduce total aerodynamic forces. It shifts the shock load from the microsecond to the millisecond range, critically reducing local stresses, vibration and thermal shock in the shuttle structure.
The mechanical closure shuts immediately after the shuttle passes, and the jet belts are switched off at once.
Atmosphere Penetrating the dense layers Ballistic atmospheric flight with the highest loads in the first seconds. Expand stage
Following a ballistic path, the shuttle uses its inertial mass and strong structure to penetrate the dense atmosphere. Peak thermal and dynamic loads occur in the first 10–20 seconds.
Essential clarification. On leaving the gas-dynamic barrier, the shuttle immediately interacts with the normal atmosphere at the specified altitude, about 3,400 m. All trajectory, heat-flux and load calculations assume full aerodynamic interaction with the atmosphere; they do not assume a “gas shield”, a “channel” or an accompanying rarefied volume.
Orbit Reaching space and orbital operations Rejecting heat, correcting the trajectory and deploying the payload. Expand stage
After leaving the atmosphere, the radiators unfold to reject heat. The shuttle then activates its onboard electromagnetic plasma drives for fine trajectory correction and insertion into the target orbit, often directly beyond geostationary orbit or towards a Lagrange point. The payload is deployed. In the AstroLiner-S configuration, final insertion and orbital correction use the chemical propulsion system.
Return Leaving orbit Braking and trajectory correction according to the shuttle version. Expand stage
The full AstroLiner uses electromagnetic plasma engines to leave orbit. In the AstroLiner-S configuration, the chemical propulsion system performs deorbit braking, corrections and final manoeuvres.
Landing Ocean landing Parachute braking, splashdown and transition to marine operation. Expand stage
Over the Atlantic near Gabon, the braking parachute system is deployed to reduce speed. The shuttle lands at a low angle of attack on its reinforced underside, designed for contact between a heated surface and cold water. Propellers or waterjets deploy after splashdown.
Servicing Towing and preparation for the next voyage Return to port, inspection, thermal-protection repair and scheduled work. Expand stage
The shuttle's own drives, powered by its onboard reactor, or standby tugs if the shuttle systems malfunction, take it to the port complex for inspection, servicing, thermal-protection repair and preparation for the next voyage. AstroLiner-S returns to port using batteries, an auxiliary power unit or standby tugs.
Direct-departure logic
StarRoad is not designed around a mandatory stop in low Earth orbit. Its basic idea is to use the initial kinetic energy to send cargo directly towards high-energy orbits and Lagrange points, reducing the need for a chain of refuelling stops, towing operations and multiple rocket launches.
During StarRoad's early implementation, and as a basic configuration that is technically simpler and operationally more conservative, the initial AstroLiner-S (Simplified / Start) shuttle is envisaged.
This is a fully functional AstroLiner with simplified energy and systems. It is intended for the line's initial operation, early cargo and crewed launches, and the gradual reduction of the system's technological, operational and regulatory risks.
The key idea of AstroLiner-S
AstroLiner-S implements StarRoad's basic paradigm—using inertia to penetrate the atmosphere—without an onboard nuclear or fusion power source, while fully retaining the main version's launch dimensions and mass.
All operations with extreme energy requirements—acceleration, levitation and stabilisation in the tunnel—are moved entirely into the ground infrastructure.
The AstroLiner-S shuttle is:
- an autonomous transport vehicle,
- fully reusable,
- capable of reaching orbit, leaving it and returning independently,
- but uses chemical propulsion exclusively outside the tunnel,
- and carries no high-power sources of ionising radiation.
Energy and superconducting systems
The AstroLiner-S configuration completely excludes:
- nuclear and fusion power plants,
- their associated radiation, thermal and accident risks,
- and scenarios involving irreversible contamination of the tunnel and gateway sections.
The superconducting elements used for levitation, stabilisation and interaction with the line are:
- energised before launch,
- placed in persistent-current mode,
- isolated from one another and managed by the onboard system.
Batteries and inertial energy stores, or flywheels, power the onboard electronics, control and protection systems. They are sized for the complete tunnel-acceleration cycle with a time reserve.
During acceleration, active control of the superconducting circuits is limited to small correction currents and emergency modes, eliminating the need for a continuous high-power source onboard.
In orbit, folding solar panels serve as the active power source.
Propulsion outside the tunnel
All AstroLiner-S orbital operations use chemical propulsion.
The shuttle is equipped with:
- medium-thrust main chemical engines of the LOX/LH₂ or LOX/LCH₄ class,
- redundant attitude-control and emergency-control systems (RCS).
The propulsion system provides:
- final insertion into the target orbit after atmospheric exit,
- correction of orbital parameters,
- departure from orbit,
- controlled atmospheric entry and return.
Electric and magnetoplasma engines are omitted from this version because it has no onboard high-power electricity source; this is not considered an architectural limitation of the system as a whole.
Return and reusability
AstroLiner-S is capable of:
- autonomous departure from orbit,
- a shallow, controlled atmospheric entry,
- aerodynamic gliding,
- an ocean landing using its wings and parachute–parafoil system.
The absence of a reactor substantially simplifies:
- marine operation,
- scheduled servicing,
- recovery of the vehicle after an off-nominal landing.
The role of AstroLiner-S in StarRoad's development
AstroLiner-S is intended as:
- the first production version of the StarRoad shuttle,
- a platform for accumulating launch and failure statistics,
- a means of bringing the system into service early,
- the basic transport for the initial orbital infrastructure.
As the project develops, compact high-power sources become available and operational experience accumulates, AstroLiner-S can gradually be supplemented or replaced by the full AstroLiner, equipped with high-power onboard energy plants and electromagnetic plasma engines.
AstroLiner-S is therefore not a compromise but a logical entry level that allows StarRoad to begin operating earlier, more safely and with lower systemic risk, without changing the line's fundamental architecture.