credit Energia / caption: First seen at Farnborough air show 2008, will this design change?
A prime contractor is to be picked for Russia's Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS) following a meeting of the Russian Federal Space Agency's (Roscosmo) scientific and engineering boards. The maiden flight is expected around 2016 and its development schedule and design will be ready next year, according to the head of Roscosmos Anatoly Perminov
ACTS is Russia's name for what the European Space Agency (ESA) referred to as Crew Space Transportation System aka CSTS. Hyperbola understands that tensions between the two arose over ESA's interest in capsule technologies. And Russia's insistence that it only wanted western European electronics for the vehicle and the service module was where ESA should focus its work. The Russian demand that only a new Russian rocket launch ACTS/CSTS was apparently another stumbling block
Under its new three-year budget ESA has some €6 million ($7.76 million) for cooperationn with Russia on space transportation projects and a further €21 million for its Advanced Reentry Vehicle programme that could give ESA's International Space Station resupply ship, Automated Transfer Vehicle a down mass capability that becomes the foundation for a EADS Astrium Ariane 5 launched manned vehicle
And so now Perminov has given the strongest indication yet that his country is going to go it alone in developing a replacement for Soyuz. But the last time the agency had a tender process for a new spacecraft it cancelled it but that was for Kliper, need I say any more?
Below is part of Roscomos' translation of the Perminov interview with Rossiiskaya Gazeta, go here to read the entire article on the space agency's website
RG: Russia commences design and development of an advanced space crew vehicle, which is to replace Soyuz. Will Russia do it independently, or in cooperation with Europe?
Perminov: In November 2008, ESA Ministerial Counsel approved ATV-based cargo return capsule project, with possible further step forward to the crew vehicle design. We have completed preliminary studies of the advanced crew transportation system for LEO and lunar missions. Most likely, Russia will develop the new crew vehicle autonomously.
RG: What will it look like?
Perminov: There was a subpanel meeting of the Roscosmos and TSNIIMASh (Central Machine Building R&D Institute) scientific and engineering boards. All the interested Roscosmos entities and organizations were also involved in this meeting. The agenda covered discussion of advanced crew systems, including design of the new crew vehicle. Next, we place a tender to pick a company, which is to lead the project.
RG: Americans state that their new vehicle Orion will be completed to make its maiden mission in 2016. What about the due dates for our vehicle?
Perminov: Commissioning date for our crew vehicle is approximately the same, according to the estimations. More precise master-schedule will be presented in the draft design documents. It should be available by mid 2010.
on January 27, 2009 10:50 AM | Reply
First unmanned launch of new LV is planned for 2015 First manned launch of new LV is planned for 2018.
Both LV should be launched from Vostochniy spaceport.
on January 27, 2009 11:14 AM | Reply
I am hoping to get more info on this new rocket from Roscosmos in due course. Is it a development of Samara's Soyuz or is it an off shoot of Angara are the questions I have. Maybe one day I'll even get to go to Vostochny.
on January 30, 2009 7:55 PM | Reply
I figure ACTS will and should go back to the Kliper design since a lot of work was done on it by RSC Energia.
It's far closer to flying then anything else in Russia at this point besides it's specs exceed the CSTS design across the board.
It also does not need a new LV other then some upgrades to the Soyuz rocket which means it can fly long before the other vehicles plus it seats six in comfort so Russia can stay in the space tourism market.
Leaving the space tourism market even for a short duration until Angara is ready could cause them to become locked out of the market as US companies like spacex will quickly snag all the business.
Other important points any new design must have a low g reentry and precision landings esp if it's to be used for tourism and future long duration flights.
on February 2, 2009 9:19 AM | Reply
I don't think they will go back to Energia. A senior Energia designer told me a few years ago that at subsonic speeds Kliper was highly unstable. I think RLVs should be small unmanned reusable upper stages and then in the decades to come they can refine the technologies for manned versions. The Russians will probably stick with the CSTS design we saw at the Farnborough air show.