[FPSPACE] Our friend Anatoly featured in BBC News space reportage

[Peter Pesavento]

Anatoly's renditions on webpage

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7519723.stm

 

Page last updated at 21:56 GMT, Tuesday, 22 July 2008 22:56 UK

 


Manned spaceship design unveiled 



By Paul Rincon 
Science reporter, BBC News 

 

 

The first official image of a Russian-European manned spacecraft has been
unveiled. 

It is designed to replace the Soyuz vehicle currently in use by Russia and
will allow Europe to participate directly in crew transportation. 

The reusable ship was conceived to carry four people towards the Moon,
rivalling the US Ares/Orion system. 

Unlike previous crewed vehicles, it will use thrusters to make a soft
landing when it returns to Earth. 

Russian aerospace writer and graphic designer Anatoly Zak has produced
artist's renderings of the new craft based on a design released by Russian
manufacturer RKK Energia at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK last week. In
some respects, the capsule resembles America's next-generation spacecraft
Orion. The 18-to-20-tonne Russian-European vehicle is designed to carry six
crew into low-Earth orbit and four on missions to lunar orbit. 

One of the most unusual features about the capsule appear to be the
thrusters and landing gear on its underside. Mr Zak said it would use these
engines to soften its landing on Earth after the fiery re-entry through our
atmosphere. 

The European Space Agency (Esa) has been talking to its Russian counterpart
Roscosmos about collaborating on the Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS)
since 2006. 

Launcher decision 

"If Esa and the Russian Space Agency reach agreement, Europe will supply the
service module of that co-operative spacecraft," Mr Zak told BBC News. 

This service module will use technology - such as the propulsion systems -
developed for Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), an unmanned
freighter recently sent to re-supply the International Space Station (ISS). 

Russia may provide the launcher for the new manned spacecraft. This might be
an entirely new vehicle, or a modification of an existing rocket. Mr Zak
said Russia was insisting in its negotiations with Europe that all future
manned projects be based in Vostochny, the new cosmodrome being developed in
Russia's eastern Amur region. The Russian government wants to host its first
manned launch from that site in 2018. 

At the moment, all manned Soyuz launches take place from Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan. 

Alternatively, the space agencies could opt to "man-rate" Europe's Ariane 5
launcher, which lifts off from Kourou in French Guiana. This would allow the
rocket to carry humans into space. 

This would involve making major modifications to Kourou spaceport, including
the development of infrastructure to support a crew escape system in the
event of an emergency. 

It is quite possible that both launch sites would play a role in any
collaborative programme, which would necessitate the lofting of cargo as
well as human crew. 

However, if this collaboration falls apart, Europe has another option for
direct manned access to space. 

Other option 

In May this year, European aerospace company EADS Astrium unveiled its own
model of a crewed space vehicle, described as an "evolution" of the ATV,
which was built by a consortium of European companies led by Astrium. 

It would combine what is essentially the avionics and propulsion end of the
ATV with a crew compartment taking the place of the current cargo section.

 

Mr Zak commented: "I think the main roadmap is the agreement between the
European and Russian space agencies. That is their Plan A. Their Plan B is
the initiative made by EADS Astrium in Bremen." 

But if the agencies want a manned craft capable of reaching the Moon, they
will need to develop new, more powerful rockets than those on the drawing
board today. 

"This is an open question, there are no decisions on how to proceed," said
Mr Zak. 

The CSTS is also sometimes referred to as the Advanced Crew Transportation
System (ACTS). Esa and Roscosmos started talks on the project after some Esa
member states rejected further involvement in the development of another
manned spacecraft called Kliper. 

The proposals will go before a crucial meeting of space ministers from
European member states in November this year. 

 

 

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