Russian Space October 1, 2006
Posted by Brian Pfeifer in Russia, Space Adventures, Space Startups.add a comment
Back when the Russian space agency joined the ISS program, they were forced to abandon plans for Mir 2, a follow on to their highly successful space station. Now those plans may be revived. Since NASA’s plans for a return to the Moon don’t call for full international partnerships, Russia is planning it’s own post-ISS course.
Between 2015 and 2025 they plan to launch a new space station into a highly inclined orbit in order to over fly all Russian territory. They also intend to provide more facilities for commercial materials testing. Considering their prior record of selling cosmonaut time on Mir, this is easy to believe.
Russia would also like to replace the Soyuz with Kliper, if they can find substantial funding for it. They’ve been courting ESA (Europe) and JAXA (Japan) and even private companies, but have yet to find the substantive commitment they need. They may still make an agreement with ESA as ESA has already committed to converting one of their Arian5 V launch towers to launch Soyuz rockets.
Russia has more experience in space than any other nation. There is no doubt that they have the technical and operation experience to fulfill these plans. It is only a question of money. Fortunately they’ve been selling services to interested parties for a long time. Space Adventures Inc. has several irons in the fire including circumlunar flights in a modified Soyuz. With the expansion of space tourism and related commercial activities, it may be the Russian space program that benefits the most
