"The new version will be equipped with digital control systems and is being designed in such a way that it could be launched both from the Baikonur space center and equatorial Kourou space center, located on a peninsula in French Guiana," he said.
Posted on 10/18/2006 11:01:06 PM PDT by Dallas59
Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation Energia said Wednesday it will create a new spaceship capable of flying to the Moon. "We have started developing the final design of a modernized spaceship that has been given the working name of Soyuz-K," Nikolai Sevastyanov, the corporation's president, told RIA Novosti.
"The new version will be equipped with digital control systems and is being designed in such a way that it could be launched both from the Baikonur space center and equatorial Kourou space center, located on a peninsula in French Guiana," he said.
Sevastyanov said Soyuz-K will be able to fly to the Moon and to re-enter the Earth's dense atmosphere on its return.
In addition, the company's president said Energia is continuing design work to create a new Russian space shuttle, the Clipper.
The Clipper, a six-person spacecraft similar to the U.S. space shuttle, is designed to replace the Soyuz and Progress carrier rockets in making regular flights to the International Space Station, and even the Moon and Mars. It will carry two professional astronauts and up to four passengers.
"Work on the Clipper is continuing. On the whole, the image of this spaceship is clear, but there are still several critical technologies whose development will take time, but we are convinced we will succeed," Sevastyanov said.
Earlier, he said Russia plans to conduct its first manned flight around the Moon in 2011-2012.
Hmmm...
Good for the Russians. It looks like an ambitious project. But what good is travelling to the moon, and not having the ability to land?
Maybe that's next..
Maybe so. But while we're going back to an Apollo-like system to get us to the moon (and maybe Mars), the Russians are just now developing a Shuttle-like system (just as we're abandoning it). Have to hand it to them, though...six-person craft. Pretty cool.
A little moon gold or platinum or diamonds for mom. That's worth landing for.
>Russians are just now developing a Shuttle-like system
Russian Shuttle-like system was developed by USSR, tested in autonomous flight, and abandoned for good many years ago.
Klipper is very different from Shuttle/Buran concept in many ways, but still uses experience we obtained while building Buran.
Yeah, we built one of those like 30 years ago.
Better late than never I suppose...
Has anyone bothered to tell them that this has been done several times before?
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