Posted on 01/25/2006 4:26:54 PM PST by KevinDavis
MOSCOW, January 25 (RIA Novosti) - A new reusable space craft designed in Russia will start delivering crews and supplies to the world's sole civilian orbital station in 2015, the head of Russia's leading space corporation said Wednesday.
The General Director and chief designer of Energia, Nikolai Sevastyanov said the Clipper would replace the Soyuz spaceship, the veteran workhorse of the Russian and Soviet space programs, for taking crews and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
The first unmanned flight of the Clipper has been set for 2012, and the first manned flight has been scheduled for 2013, according to Sevostyanov. The six-man craft will be able to double the current number of crewmembers being taken to the ISS.
The new shuttle has a number of advantages. For example, it will be equipped with an orbital transfer vehicle and a container with a capacity of 12 metric tons, compared with the Soyuz's two-ton capacity. This will cut transportation costs considerably, Sevastyanov said.
(Excerpt) Read more at en.rian.ru ...
Attention Russia: you have bigger things to worry about than trying to continue the space race.
Just as the US is realizing that heavy lift cargo and crewed vehicles are best addressed by different launchers, the Russians repeat our mistakes of the '70's.
It doesn't take much to realize that if you're trying to launch cargo cheaply, you probably shouldn't pay to launch wings, air, windows, landing gear, thermal protection, etc.
Bump for later read...
Proves that Russia is still a superpower. Not good.
No, it proves that they're trying to make us think they're still a superpower. This is money they should be spending elsewhere that they're using to try to scare us.
Well, it's their economy's loss.
You know what's really a buyer's market in Russia? Artist's conceptions.
What we need is a concerted effort to reduce the cost of any flight into space to no more than the cost to fly from LA to Atlanta. Government either can't or won't do this. We need a new group of people and companies willing to push the very edge of what we know, not a bunch pf bureaucrats interested in protecting their turf.
I agree completely. NASA long ago fulfilled it's mision, and ought to be phased out as commercial space businesses come on line. I think part of the reason people like Burt Rutan are so successful is that they do not have to support an enormous overhead in Union Labor, Gubment Beaurocracy, etc. I don't know actual numbers, but I'll bet that NASA's personnel costs are just astronomical.
Hey World Space Agencies...
Quit announcing things and just do it!
Remember Sputnik? Now that was public relations.
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