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-- A replacement for Soyuz?

Posted by DrUg_Tit0 on Mar-21-2004 12:21:

A replacement for Soyuz?

quote:
New spacecraft to replace Russian Soyuz
Vehicle will seat up to six crew members
Saturday, March 20, 2004 Posted: 1:55 AM EST (0655 GMT)

A Soyuz spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russian designers are working on a replacement for the veteran Soyuz spacecraft, the mainstay of the nation's space program since the 1960s, officials said Friday.

The new spacecraft, called the Clipper, will hold a crew of six compared to Soyuz's three. It will have a takeoff weight of 16 tons -- more than twice its predecessor, Nikolai Bryukhanov, deputy chief designer at the RKK Energiya company, told the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Unlike the Soyuz, which can only be used once, the Clipper will be reusable and capable of making up to 25 flights, Bryukhanov said.

The new spacecraft also will be more comfortable, significantly reducing G-forces on the crew during re-entry in comparison with the Soyuz, he added.

Energiya can build the Clipper in five years if it receives sufficient government funding, said the company's vice president, Nikolai Zelenshchikov.

Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft have served as the only link to the international space station since the U.S. space shuttle fleet was grounded following the breakup of the Columbia during its return to Earth in February 2003.

Zelenshchikov said Energiya engineers were also working on a huge spaceship for a flight to Mars, set to weigh 660 tons, the Interfax news agency reported.

Well, it will be nice if they make it. I can't understand why they don't reinstate their "buran" program, though.

Posted by imokruok on Mar-21-2004 17:16:

Re: A replacement for Soyuz?

quote:
Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
Well, it will be nice if they make it. I can't understand why they don't reinstate their "buran" program, though.

Haha...yeah, the Russian "shuttle" rip off. They don't reinstate it because they know from watching the US that it's like pouring money down the drain.

Posted by Dervish on Mar-21-2004 19:36:

Re: Re: A replacement for Soyuz?

quote:
Originally posted by imokruok
Haha...yeah, the Russian "shuttle" rip off. They don't reinstate it because they know from watching the US that it's like pouring money down the drain.

"Rip off"..... it's not. Thats like when people said that their version of Concord was a rip of just cos it looked the same as our one. "Concordski" was actually in many ways better but an arrogant pilot fucked it's chances at the paris airshow. The same goes for the space exploration russians are arguably better. E.g. who's servicing flights to the ISS? One one nation and it ain't the US.