Soyuz To Give Way To Clipper By 2010

Russia is developing a manned space shuttle of a radically new design capable of carrying six cosmonauts, claims a high-ranking Russian space official. Boris Sotnikov, a deputy head of the Energia space corporation's R&D center, says the new spacecraft may replace Russia's current Soyuz space vehicles in 2010.

"The new spacecraft, tentatively called Clipper, is designed to take crews and cargoes to orbital stations and, should the need arise, ensure emergency evacuation of cosmonauts and equipment back to Earth," he said. According to Sotnikov, Clippers will be used for self-contained orbital flights lasting up to 10 days and will also serve as a base for various  scientific experiments. In addition, the new spacecraft will have a capacity to carry as many as four "space tourists", three more than the Soyuz is able to haul.

The six-member crew of the new space shuttle will consist of two pilots and four cosmonauts (or passengers). In addition, the Clipper will be able to carry a cargo of up to 700 kg. The lift-off mass of the 10-meter-long shuttle will be 14.5 tons. Clippers will be launched into orbit by Russia's Onega carrier rocket, a radically upgraded version of the Soyuz launch vehicle. Energia plans to launch the new space shuttle from all Russian space centers -- from Baikonur and Plesetsk -- using existing Soyuz launch facilities.

If the joint EU-Russian project of utilizing the Kourou space center facilities develops successfully, Clippers will be able to lift off from the Russian launch site currently under construction on the equatorial space center located in Kourou in French Guiana.

FMI: www.rosaviakosmos.ru/english/eindex.htm