Operating cycle

The loaded shuttle is placed in the launch chamber near Batanga. The shuttle’s onboard systems are tested, followed by the accelerator systems. A pre-launch test of the gas-dynamic gateway is then performed. The onboard superconductors are energised, magnetic levitation is activated and checked, and the tunnel is under vacuum. On command, pulsed power begins to be supplied to the initial accelerator segments.

• 0–330 km. Starting longitudinal acceleration ~4g. A significant share of the energy goes to levitation and overcoming gravity.
• 330–~1800 km (descending part of the S-curve). Longitudinal acceleration decreases smoothly from the initial 4g to 0. The shuttle passes through the underground curves, experiencing loads of up to ~4g. Its trajectory is stabilized by the surrounding electromagnetic elements.
• ~1800–2050 km (ascending part of the S-curve). Acceleration falls to zero as the shuttle approaches the gateway. The shuttle then coasts at ~11 km/s over the final 50 km.

Thanks to the high exit point, the shuttle reaches an altitude of >10 km above sea level only ~30 km from the gateway, minimizing the shock-wave impact on the surrounding territory. The gas-dynamic gateway belts are test-fired one minute before shuttle launch while the mechanical gate remains closed. After the shuttle has covered 45% of the tunnel route, compressed air accumulated by the pumps of the final tunnel section during evacuation is sent through the gateway belts as a supersonic flow. About ~10 seconds before the shuttle arrives, hydrogen is supplied and the gas-dynamic barrier system is fully activated in combustion mode, creating a stable conical supersonic flow of hot, partially ionized gas. 3 seconds after successful belt activation and formation of the hot barrier-gradient cone, the mechanical gate opens.

The barrier also prevents loss of vacuum in the tunnel and softens the initial thermal shock. Within milliseconds, the shuttle passes through a prepared region of rarefied and heated gas. This key technology changes the time profile of the initial aerodynamic loading, eliminating an ultra-short shock front during the transition between media.

The gas-dynamic barrier does not reduce the total aerodynamic force. It shifts the impact load from the microsecond range into the millisecond range, critically reducing local stresses, vibration and thermal shock in the shuttle structure.

The mechanical gate closes immediately after the shuttle passes, after which the jet belts are shut down without delay.

Following a ballistic trajectory, the shuttle uses its high inertial mass and robust structure to pass through the dense layers of the atmosphere. Peak thermal and dynamic loads occur during the first 10–20 seconds.

Fundamental clarification. After leaving the gas-dynamic barrier zone, the shuttle immediately interacts with the normal atmosphere at the specified altitude (~3400 m). All trajectory, heat-flow and load calculations assume full aerodynamic interaction with the atmosphere, with no assumption of a “gas shield”, “channel” or accompanying rarefied volume.

After leaving the atmosphere, the radiators deploy to reject heat. The shuttle then activates its onboard electromagnetic plasma thrusters for fine trajectory correction and insertion into the target orbit—often directly beyond GEO or towards the Lagrange points. The payload is deployed. In the AstroLiner-S configuration, final insertion and orbital correction are performed by a chemical propulsion system.

In the full-function AstroLiner, deorbit is performed with electromagnetic plasma thrusters. In the AstroLiner-S configuration, deorbit braking, corrections and final manoeuvres are performed by the chemical propulsion system.

Over the Atlantic Ocean near Gabon, a braking parachute system is deployed to reduce speed. The shuttle lands at a low angle of attack on a reinforced underside designed to withstand contact between the heated surface and cold water. Propellers or waterjets are deployed after splashdown.

The shuttle’s own motors, powered by its onboard reactor, or standby tugs in the event of a shuttle-system failure, return the vehicle to the port complex for inspection, maintenance, thermal-protection repair and preparation for the next flight. In the AstroLiner-S configuration, the return to port is provided by batteries, an auxiliary power unit or standby tugs.