New Russian spacecraft will go to the moon
The head of Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin, made a statement to the media that a new space manned spacecraft would be created in Russia by 2018. In the same year will be conducted and its unmanned tests. He also talked about which use cases are being considered for the new ship. This is not only long-term missions in autonomous mode, but also flights to the moon, as well as a flight to a space station located between our planet and the moon. Popovkin noted that the new system is supposed to be made transport not immediately, because first of all it is necessary to check how accurately and correctly the ship is assembled, whether errors and errors are made in its layout scheme, and whether it can descend to the second surface of the Earth. cosmic speed, as it comes to heavy loads. In the new ship will be solved the problem of reusable use due to the heat-shielding coating.
Also, the head of Roskosmos added that if the heavy launch vehicle is not ready to launch from Vostochny space center (this rocket is supposed to be built before 2015 in the Amur region), the unmanned launch will be carried out using the Zenit launch vehicle. And the tests themselves will be conducted from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Such decisions Popovkin explained that the industry should not be dependent on the occurrence of possible problems and difficulties in the construction of the East, and the associated delays.
The head of Roscosmos also added that new spacecraft may in the future replace the Soyuz spacecraft.
A promising space manned spacecraft will be able to land ten times more accurately than the Soyuz did thanks to the use of a parachute-jet system during landing.
Similar information was also announced by Gennady Raikunov, General Director of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering, who noted that work on the creation of a new spacecraft had already started. In his conviction, at present, the Russian space industry has significantly expanded the tasks of mastering and exploring outer space. That is why it is necessary to concentrate all attention on the development of space infrastructure. A new promising transport manned system should help in solving a whole complex of tasks related to conducting scientific research, servicing vehicles located in outer space, and carrying out flights to the moon.
Alexander Zheleznyakov, academician of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K. Tsiolkovsky, also shared his thoughts on a new project. According to him, the need to create such a ship has been brewing for a long time. And the reason for this is quite serious - the fact is that the Soyuz ships, which are currently in use, were built back in the 60s of the last century. And, even despite all the modifications and upgrades, they can no longer meet modern requirements. In such a situation, there was an urgent need to create a new spacecraft that would have a large payload, would have great flight simulation capabilities and orbit heights. He also noted that the ships of the new generation are needed not only in Russia, but in the whole world. By creating a new promising manned system, the Russian state will be able to consolidate its position in outer space. In addition, this system will provide an opportunity to master not only the near-Earth orbit, but also to rise much higher to the Moon, and perhaps in the future will become the real basis for making flights to asteroids and planets that have not yet been studied.
At the same time, it’s not worthwhile to say that with the help of new ships Russia will be able to take leading positions in the global space industry, since similar projects are being developed in other countries around the world - in the United States of America, China, and Japan. It is noteworthy that all the developments that are carried out in different countries have approximately identical parameters and capabilities. And from the one who will be able to complete the construction first, conduct flight tests and bring new ships to the world market, he will be the winner. Therefore, if Russia is claiming leadership, it should consider not only creating a new system, but also that it should appear first in the world.
Recall that the tender for the development of the conceptual design of a promising Russian-made manned spacecraft was won in April 2009 by the corporation Energia. It is envisaged that several modifications of the system will be created that will perform certain functions: preparing flights to the near-moon and earth orbit, de-orking large space debris and satellites that have failed, carrying out repair work on spacecraft.
Earlier, Alexey Krasnov, the head of Roscosmos manned programs, also noted in particular that flight tests of a promising spacecraft created in Russia will begin in 2015-2016.
Materials used:
http://www.odnako.org/blogs/show_19830/
http://ria.ru/science/20120718/702412855.html
http://www.space.com.ua/gateway/news.nsf/HronolR/226D90DBA04C59FCC2257A400030EC08!open
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