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Space plans outlined on Cosmonauts’ Day
Published: 12 April, 2010, 13:35
Edited: 15 April, 2010, 21:28
TAGS: Anniversary, Space, Russia, SciTech
As Russia celebrates 49 years since the first manned orbital launch, head of the national space agency has outlined its immediate plans. He brings bad news for tourists and optimism for a Mars satellite sampling mission.
The upcoming years are going to be busy for the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov told Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper. Soon rotation of the now extended crew of the International Space Station will rely solely on Russia. By year’s end, three more Soyuz spacecraft will deliver nine explorers to the station and return nine people to Earth.
This is good news for the industry, but probably bad news for eager would-be space tourists. Perminov doubts that a ticket to orbit will be offered for sale any time soon, and even plans for a private company to commission a Soyuz spacecraft for tourist use are unlikely to materialize, considering the number of orders from Roscosmos and the 2.5-year production period.
On the supply side, European and Japanese freighters will work hand in hand with Russian Progress spacecraft to deliver cargo to the ISS. Russia plans five more Progress-M launches this year. Private firm SpaceX may also provide the services of its Dragon freighter for the station.
The ISS remains among the biggest priorities in the Russian space program. Recently, participants of the collaboration agreed to prolong it till 2020, and some parts of the station are anticipated to be still in use up to 2028.
Down on the ground, the Russian cosmonaut crew will soon have some new recruits. Among the eight candidates is a woman, Perinov said. If she is selected, she will become the second active female cosmonaut in the squad, joining Elena Serova.
By the end of year, Roscosmos is to launch RadioAston orbital radio telescope. And next year, a Phobos-Grunt mission is to travel to Mars’ satellite. The automated craft will sample Phobos’ soil and return with it to Earth.
Among more distant plans of the agency is the development of the Angara rocket family, the future Russian launch workhorse. The first launch of the rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome is scheduled for the next year, but is likely to be postponed till 2012. The rocket itself is 80 per cent ready, Perminov said, and ground tests of its building block – the Universal Rocket Module – have been a success. However the development of launch facilities is lagging behind due to funding shortages.
Another prospective project is the development of a nuclear spacecraft engine. Roscosmos estimates the project at several billion dollars and plans to publish first design details in 2012. The engine will be ready for testing in space by 2018, Perminov said.
In 2011, construction of Russia’s new Cosmodrome Vostochny in the Far Eastern Amur region begins. The first launch from the site is expected in 2015. Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome also receives its share of investment. Russia and Kazakhstan are building a new launch pad, Baiterek, there, which will be used for future Angara launches.
Read also: Who strikes Gagarin's name out of Russia's history?
Test your knowledge of the life and legacy of space pioneer Yury Gagarin. Take RT’s space quiz.
12.04.2010, 10:20
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