In Novosti Kosmonavtiki №605 Nikolai Sevast’yanov made some more pronouncements. Energiya proposes four phases of the Russian space program up to the year 2050:
- Modernization of the existing Soyuz transport ship by 2012 which would increase its load by 7-15 tons;
- Creation of the “Parom” ferry to replace the Progress cargo ship; it would increase the cargo weight carried into orbit from 2.5 to 15 tons;
- A piloted flight to the Moon by 2015 and an operational base by 2030;
- A mission to Mars by 2030 and colonization to begin by 2050.
All these plans and schemes seem to keep moving into the future like a mirage...I will be 60 in 2030 and 80 in 2050! Hopefully things will happen sooner than that!
Russia is also considering a longterm plan to keep the Station operational until 2025 (article also at RIA Novosti). NASA also has changed its mind about supporting the ISS; it initially planned to stop support after 2016 but now plans to extend space station support to 2020.
A page on the Energiya site commemorates the 100th anniversary of the practical cosmonautics founder, academician Sergei Pavlovich Korolyov.
Andrei Kislyakov on the 11 January destruction of a satellite by China: “Oriental satellite killer: case No. 1”: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
“Astronaut diaries used to study mood”, MSNBC.com, 30/1. Unfortunately these diaries are not for public viewing! They would make interesting reading. The diaries posted at the NASA Astronaut Journal site are all cheery and perky, which can get a bit tedious.
A Sea Launch Zenit exploded on its pad destroying a communications satellite it was carrying. No one was injured. (Sea Launch site.) (There is an interesting post describing the Sea Launch procedures at NASASpaceflight.com.)
Vassili Petrovitch has posted an extensive collection of Aerospace Transport Systems: Book of Technical Papers on his Buran space shuttle site. It is an excellent resource for the Russian shuttle. I was interested in Buran until 2002 when the hangar collapsed in May, destroying the Buran orbiter that made it into orbit, and killing seven workers. Before that tragedy there seemed to be some hope of resurrecting the Russian shuttle, but it seems dead now, sadly.
