Russia and USA plan joint development of rocket engines for flights to Mars

Russian Information Agency ^ | 06/16/05

[KevinDavis]

LE BOURGET (France), June 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and the United States are considering the possibilities of joint development of new rocket engines for spaceships flights to the Moon and Mars, the head of the Roskosmos, Anatoly Perminov, said at the Air Show in Le Bourget.

"At the meeting with our American partners we considered the possibility of flights to the Moon and Mars, and also the development of engines, because if this task is not accomplished, no spaceship will fly anywhere," Perminov said.

Apart from that, according to him, the partners discussed the program of delivering Russian rocket engines RD-180 for the American Atlas rocket carriers to the USA.

"There are no deviations from the implementation of this program, Russia supplies engines strictly in time, and the American side approves the ideology of continuing moving in that direction," Perminov told RIA Novosti

[KevinDavis]

I have a bad mojo about this....

[KevinDavis]

[Brett66]

I hope they are not considering using chemical propulsion for a human Mars mission, it's not up to the task.

[Paleo Conservative]

I sure hope we don't let the French come along too.

[bobdsmith]

I kind of want the next moon mission to take along an elephant. Sure they would need more fuel probably and to design an elephant space suit. But the expression on the elephants face would be priceless.

[sgtbono2002]

We will share our technical info with Russia while they shuck and jive us.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

The rocket will be called the "Sputapollo".

[Prophet in the wilderness]

How about nuclear propulsion ?
Would it be better or easier to build it in orbit instead of trying to life all of that weight from the Earth ?

[Paleo Conservative]

You could take a baby elephant in suspended animation. That would be much less weight than an adult.

[misanthrope]

This country's not nearly committed enough to even contemplate a trip to Mars. Not by orders of magnitude.

[RightWhale]

The Atlas motor assembly is the most efficient large motor ever. That doesn't make it appropriate for moon or Mars flights. NASA has more experience with electric motors and nuclear motors than anybody, and those are the ones for interplanetary transportation.

[ANGGAPO]

You can't trust the bastards.

[KevinDavis]

How do you know that??

[KevinDavis]

I agree....

[chilepepper]

they already have one of those. the vehicle has a steel plate out the back and they set off a hydrogen bomb behind it and... wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

[klpt]

http://www.astronautix.com/craft/polyus.htm

[Doe Eyes]

Manned travel to Mars is so important that I propose we borrow all the money we need to fund it.

Don't raise my taxes, let the next generation pay for it.

[misanthrope]

Opinion. You'll not see a serious attemp at Mars for at least ten years. Priorities will likely change and extend that.

[KevinDavis]

Uh huh... Well if false stories about the Mars Mission costing a trillion dollars is being reported I understand. It depends in who they ask......

[KevinDavis]

Don't worry... The NASA budget will still .5 % of our national budget..