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Russia and ESA shoot for 2018 manned spacecraft |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Thursday, 15 May 2008
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 Giving themselves a decade to put it together, Roskosmos – the Russian Space Agency – and the ESA are partnering to create a new type of manned spacecraft. According to Roskosmos, the craft could carry up to six astronauts and would launch from a new space facility currently under construction in Siberia. Russian engineers will be responsible for building the crew capsule, while the ESA will construct and supply the disposable launch and support systems.
According to Roskosmos, they hope to have their first test flights in 2015, followed by manned flights in 2018. Like the upcoming NASA-designed Orion CEV, the Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS) ESA-Roskosmos craft will feature a reusable crew module coupled with disposable launch systems.
The system will be based on Russia’s proposed Kliper design. Kliper has been in development since early 2004 as a replacement for the aging Soyuz system. The design resembles the cockpit portion of the space shuttle, with small gliding wings and no windows. As the Kliper itself has minimal thrust capability, in order to reach the International Space Station it would have to dock with an orbital “space tug,” name Parom. Standing alone, Kliper would be able to operate for two weeks, and docked to the ISS for up to a year. At some point, a Kliper craft could permanently replace the emergency escape Soyuz craft docked to the ISS.
The modular nature of Kliper, like the Orion CEV, will allow it to be augmented to support missions to the moon, and conceivably to Mars. Energia, the Russian company that develops most Roskosmos launch systems, has showcased a conceptual configuration that could serve as an interplanetary crew craft.
Because the current Kliper design weighs in at 14 tons, compared to the 8 tons of the Soyuz craft, a new or updated Soyuz launch system would be required. Prior to the entrance of the ESA into the Kliper program, it was postulated that an upgraded Soyuz 2 rocket would be used to launch the Kliper, but with the ESA now responsible for the engine systems, that could very well change.
With the ESA’s partnership, the Kliper moniker has been dropped and replaced with Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS). The ESA has stated that they do no want to attempt a solo development of a manned system and prior to partnering with Roskosmos, the ESA had approached NASA about partnering on the development of the Orion CEV. Current US policy, however, has the agency limiting the vehicle to only US participants.
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