Star City article

I’ve had a head cold since last week, so I haven’t felt much like doing anything. *Snuffle*

“Going to Space? First Stop: Eight Months of Grueling Training in Russia’s Star City”, Wired Magazine, September 2008. An overview of Star City, Звёздный Городок. A somewhat quirky overview of the place from the point-of-view of the space tourists training there.

Marina Driga, a military captain and press liaison, confides what some around Star City think of its high-profile trainees: “People say it is better to send monkey.”

“Mission Possible”, Anatoly Zak, Air & Space Magazine, 1/9. An overview of the Phobos-Grunt probe to be launched in 2009 (hopefully).

He started it!

Georgia’s pea-brained hothead of a president decided to provoke Russia by invading South Ossetia, this while the Olympics are on too. Naturally the Western media are siding with Saakashvilli, who has them well and truly conned (“Saakashvili as a propaganda phenomenon”, RIA Novosti). This thread at NASASpaceflight.com speculates whether the hostilites will affect the ISS partnership, seeing as the USA has sided with Georgia (whose military has been trained by U.S. forces). Though as one notes, the U.S. invasion of Iraq didn’t affect the partnership.

Some blog commentaries: Da Russophile (beginning from this entry); Saakashvilli’s War at Sean’s Russia Blog. The Western media is generally useless for anything approaching impartial reporting when regards to Russia (some exceptions: “Russo-Georgian conflict is not all Russia’s fault”, Christian Science Monitor; “Plucky little Georgia? No, the cold war reading won’t wash”, Guardian).

ISS medical training

Some information on the medical training cosmonauts receive for an ISS stay, from Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №719:

31/7/2008/12:30 – ISS commander and military pilot Sergei Volkov was trained for a new profession as the head physician

Sergei Volkov – ISS-17 commander and Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Federation VVS (Air Force) – has for some time been trained for a new profession as the head physician of the Station. The more so because today in orbit is medical day. The official representative of TsUP (Moscow Mission Control Center), Valerii Lyndin, said, “Today the physicians are evaluating the physical fitness level of the of Russian cosmonauts on the treadmill, and Volkov is still developing critical skills for the medical operations.”

“Exercises are conducted with the cosmonaut on working with the onboard American medical equipment of which there is a lot onboard the Station,” explained Irina Alferova, the head of the TsUP Medical Group. According to her, NASA assigns a specialist in each expedition to be responsible for medicine and train them to use onboard equipment and to render aid to associates aboard. If there is a doctor in the composition of the crew – as there was, for example, in ISS-15, where Oleg Kotov had medical qualifications – that question is solved. But if the ISS crew only comprises pilots and engineers, then one of them is selected, who will, during the entire flight, fulfill the function of head physician and will periodically refresh his skills by training with the medical equipment.

Several times during the flight, training is conducted aboard to deal with a non-standard medical situation, which includes the additional training of crew for the use of equipment for the rendering of first aid. The NASA specialists assign to the cosmonauts a specific situation – for example, to remove a mote from the eye of an associate or to dress a wound – and they perform the function of physicians, using the multifunctional medical equipment existing onboard the ISS. “Through the Russian program we do not carry out such training, since we consider that our cosmonauts without this are wonderfully prepared and can render each other practical assistance,” emphasized Alferova.

“Before the flight, all Russian cosmonauts during the year pass a special course on medicine and obtain knowledge and habits, which correspond to a unfinished higher medical education.” Onboard the ISS there is all that is necessary for the rendering of first aid. Cosmonauts can give each other an electrocardiogram, take a blood analysis, or perform intravenous infusion. On the sudden stopping of heart of one of the crew members, their partner can use a defibrilator, which is located on the Station in a special medical case. There is on the ISS dentistry equipment, which includes the necessary tool for the treatment and the removal of teeth. “Truthfully, in the entire time of the operation of the Station, the dental tools have so far been not required, since before the flight the cosmonauts treat their teeth with a special composition of fluorine.”

“Can people live on Mars?”, RIA Novosti, 25/7. NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) will carry some Russian equipment, the Russian Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons, or DAN. On a side note, when the New Horizons space probe reaches Pluto, NASA will have visited every planet in the solar system! Russia, in contrast, hasn’t done anything in unmanned spaceflight since the failed Mars-96 launch in 1996.

Russian President Dmitrii Medvedev declared 2011 the “Year of Russian Cosmonautics”. He could back that up with some funding for a manned Russian Mars mission! (Wishful thinking…)

EVA-20 completed

Sergei Volkov (EVA-1, Orlan #27, red stripes) and Oleg Kononenko (EV-2, Orlan #26, blue stripes) completed their second spacewalk. This was the originally-scheduled spacewalk for various tasks. The duration was 5h 54m (17:08-23:02 on 15 July). Reports:

• ISS Daily Report
• MSNBC.com: “Spacewalkers spruce up the station”, 15/7
• NASA
• NASASpaceflight.com forum thread

ISS EVA-20a completed

“Phew! Spacewalkers remove explosive bolt”, MSNBC.com, 10/7. Sergei Volkov (EVA-1, Orlan #27, red stripes) and Oleg Kononenko (EV-2, Orlan #26, blue stripes) completed their first spacewalk to retrieve a suspected faulty pyro bolt from Soyuz TMA-12. The spacewalk lasted 6h 18m. More reports at NASA and this NASASpaceflight.com thread. Their next EVA is to take place on 15 July.

This blog entry regarded them as somewhat amateurish:

They fumbled and they stumbled, and wrestled with their space tools, but in the end, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergei Volkov managed to cut through insulation and pull an explosive bolt from a Soyuz spacecraft parked at the International Space Station.

[…]

Nowhere near as polished as U.S.-trained spacewalkers, the Russians had problems finding their tools which were tethered to a special case and often tangled. At times the pair looked like a couple of amateur car mechanics with fishbowls on their heads, working with oven mitts, trying to change spark plugs with a spoon.

This was the first EVA for both; they also did not have extensive rehearsal training on Earth like the NASA Shuttle astronauts do. Russian EVA training tends to be more general, rather than focus on learning specific tasks like U.S. EVAs do (for Shuttle missions). The EVA was also somewhat unexpected (not initially scheduled). This item from Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №714 elaborates:

8/7/2008/09:28 – The ISS crew for the first time in the history of the Station conducted a second “general rehearsal” before going out in open space

A “general rehearsal” for the upcoming EVA will be held again today on the ISS. Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko will hold a second so-called “dry run” in the Russian space suit Orlan-M for the EVA, scheduled for July 10, said Valerii Lyndin, the official representative of Moscow Mission Control Center. The first rehearsal was similar to that of June 26, he recalled.

The Russians dismantled ducts in the Pirs docking module from where they will step into space, then donned 130 kg Orlans and “take a walk” in them in the module. There is provision also for entrance to the docking compartment of the Soyuz attached to Pirs, in which the crew could return to Earth in case of emergency. In addition, the crew must test the system transition and living quarters.

On the ISS this is the first precedent of this prolonged and thorough preparation for an EVA; usually crew conducts one training session in their flight suits and one in the spacesuits. However, this time Volkov and Kononenko decided to twice practice abandoning the Station and entering the “lifeboat” in the Orlan-M spacesuits. The reasons for this are several. First, Volkov and Kononenko are novices; for them this is their first EVA. Certainly, they worked out in detail all EVA operations in the hydrolaboratory of the Zvezdni Gorodok/Star City; however, training on Earth is still not work in open space. Furthermore, this output is unplanned; the cosmonauts before the flight did not do extensive training for it. The novices have to inspect “the lifeboat” – the Soyuz spacecraft – and extract the cartridge, which the specialists consider the reason “for the disruption” to the ballistic descent of two previous expeditions – ISS-15 in October 2007 and ISS-16 in April this year. This is not a trivial task even for an experienced crew, since the Soyuz is not fitted with handrails unlike other ISS modules. And one additional difficulty: conditions are complicated by the unusual configuration of the Station, when the Soyuz spacecraft, which usually is docket to the end of the Russian segment, is “moored” to Pirs, from where cosmonauts exit into space. In the case of a contingency situation for Volkov and Kononenko, it is necessary for them to move directly into the Soyuz Orbital Module in their bulky spacesuits so they can, after removing their spacesuits, take their seats in the Descent Module of the Soyuz spacecraft vehicle, in which the third member of the ISS-17 crew – American Gregory Shamitoff – will already be waiting.

According to Lyndin, the only precedent for such operations before Volkov and Kononenko VKD are Russian Alexander Kaleri and NASA astronaut Michael Foale (ISS crew-9), but both had experience of several long-duration flights on the orbital complex Mir, and the ISS Station crew then consisted only of two people, so the cosmonauts did not have to worry about the safety of a third crew member.

After some comments (from the NASASpaceflight.com forum!), the blog author edited:

Many readers rightly point out (see the comments section) that this was the first spacewalk for these cosmonauts and that Russians don’t traditionally undergo the same level of highly choreographed EVA training as their U.S. counterparts. They also point out the spacewalk achieved its objectives and was a success. Agreed on all counts and important points. No disrespect was intended. Nevertheless, it was a markedly different experience from recent NASA spacewalks. – RB

More on cosmonaut training from NK news №214:

9/7/2008/00:09 – Russian cosmonauts will do parachute training in Siberia

The group of GCTC cosmonauts who are undergoing parachute training will be based in a separate helicopter regiment of the Siberian air force and air defense, said Lieutenant Vladimir Drik, temporarily Acting Assistant Commander of the Air Force, on Tuesday.

“The main program for the group, which will be prolonged to the middle of August, consists of jump training, which is part of a comprehensive training for the cosmonauts crews for work in space,” said Drik.

According to him, the special exercises for the training of cosmonauts, developed by domestic specialists, which are to be undertaken in just a few seconds of flight, make it possible to train for complex combined activities. During the exercises the instructors check the rapidity of reaction, the speed of decision-making of the cosmonauts and the clarity of their actions, specified the assistant Commander.

“During the jump the cosmonaut must be able to simultaneously keep track of many sources of information, and at the same time be prepared for any abnormal situations. Parachute jumping for the cosmonauts brings out the necessary qualities for spaceflight – concentration, attentiveness, courage,” said Drik.

“Will We Ever Reach Mars?”, RIAN/Space Daily, 7/7. Andrei Kislyakov opinion piece, mainly to do with the upcoming IMBP medical experiment (26/6 entry).

Sergei Krikalyov back on flight list

According to Sergei’s biography page at Astronaut.ru (in Russian), he has reappeared on the ISS crew list, initially as a backup for ISS-21A (for cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri on the prime crew):

In 2008, Sergei has tentatively been named as part of the backup crew of ISS-21A. According to these plans, the prime crew will launch on Soyuz TMA-18 in March 2010. This will be the first flight of a new modification of the Soyuz-TMA spaceship (700 – Series 1).

Soyuz tourist ship

“Russia seals agreement with private investor for space tourism”, Space Daily, 2/7. After some confusion it seems this project is real (see announcement at Space Adventures early in June).

The Russian space agency has sealed a deal with a private investor to build a Soyuz spacecraft specially for tourist hire and operational in 2011, a statement said Wednesday. “We have concluded an agreement with an investor to begin financing such a Soyuz vessel with an anticipated launch date of 2011,” the Roskosmos website stated. The craft, piloted by a professional astronaut, is designed to carry two so-called space adventurers.

I can’t feel much enthusiasm for it (see 15/6 entry and Cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov’s complaints in the 18/5 entry). The once-grand vision of the Soviet space program has been degraded into a taxi service for bored rich capitalists. I don’t believe government programs should be providing rides for tourists – leave that to the private industry! (Whenever the latter actually launches a spaceship into orbit.)

Upcoming Russian spacewalks

Two Russian spacewalks in Orlan spacesuits are to take place at long last – the previous one was just over a year ago (6 June 2007). James Oberg gives an overview in “Next spacewalk will have an explosive twist”, MSNBC.com, 2/7.

Two Russian cosmonauts on the international space station practiced Thursday for a dramatic spacewalk planned in July, which will involve taking an explosive bolt from the exterior of a docked Soyuz spacecraft and bringing it into the station itself. The risky operation is aimed at figuring out why similar bolts on earlier Soyuz spaceships misfired, leading to two rugged, off-course landings over the past year. The cosmonauts hope to avoid similar problems when they use the currently docked Soyuz to return to Earth at the end of their mission in October.

The 2/7 ISS Daily Report provides an outline of both spacewalks (20A and 20):

EVA-20A Timeline Preview: Orlan EVA-20a by Volkov/EV1 & Kononenko/EV2 is scheduled to begin at ~2:18 p.m. EDT [18:18 UTC] (DC1 EV hatch open) on 10/7, to last an estimated 6 hrs. During the spacewalk, EV2 will be riding on the DC1-based Strela 1 crane, operated via hand crank by EV1, who will then join EV2. Main objective is the inspection of the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft at its first separation plane (Plane I) followed by removal of one pyrobolt for return to Earth. Before removing the separation bolt, EV2 will install temporary protective covers on the spacecraft’s DPO attitude control thrusters, open up the MLI (Multi-Layer Insulation), demate the pyrobolt’s electrical connector and cut the wiretie between the pyrobolts. MLI will then be reattached and the covers removed again. If enough time remains after the Soyuz activity, the spacewalkers will also install a docking target (for the new MLM/Multipurpose Laboratory Module) in the SM PkhO (Transfer Compartment) area for zenith port docking. [Background: Before their separation, Descent Module (SA) & Instrumentation Compartment (AO) are connected by five locks, each “zamok” containing two pyrobolts with individual electrical connection, of which only one needs to fire to release the lock. The locks are equally spaced around the 360-degree circumference of the separation plane, i.e., 72 deg apart. After the five locks have released, five pushers, also equally spaced, separate the two modules by pre-loaded spring force. Each lock and pusher is located at the apex (node) of two triangularly arranged aluminum pipes, i.e., altogether 20 inclined pipes, which make up the open truss structure between the modules.]

EVA-20 Timeline Preview (preliminary): The Orlan EVA-20 by Volkov (EV1) & Kononenko (EV2) on 7/15 is scheduled to begin at ~1:14 p.m. EDT [17:14 UTC] (DC1 EV hatch open), to last an estimated 5 hrs 30 min, i.e., concluding at approximately 6:44 p.m. [22:44 UTC] Part of the EVA will be supported by the DC1-based Strela 1 crane, operated via hand crank. Main objectives of the Russian spacewalk are:

• Closeout ops on Soyuz TMA-12 Plane I inspection/pyrobolt removal (if not completed during EVA-20A);
• Installation of a new docking target on SM PkhO (Transfer Compartment), Plane IV, for MLM (if not completed during EVA-20A);
• Post-installation photography of the new docking target;
• Inspection of mounting holes for an adapter of a Kurs antenna (4AO-VKA) on PkhO-RO (SM Working Compartment, small diameter section);
• Transferring one “Yakor” foot restraint (of two) from the DC1 EVA ladder to the SM and installing it in an attachment socket at a PkhO handrail (two Yakors were installed on DC1 ladder during EVA-17A on 2/22/07);
• Installing the VSPLESK (“Burst”) science payload on the SM RO (large diameter section); and
• Removing the BIORISK-MSN (BIO-2) experiment container 1 from the DC1 for return to the station (BIORISK-MSN #1 was installed with two other BIO-2 containers during EVA-19 on 6/6/07).

Mars-500 delayed

Unfortunately the Mars-500 has been delayed for 6 months. From Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №213:

1/7/2008/16:50 – Mars-500 experiment postponed for at least six months

The beginning of a major scientific experiment in which scientists intended to simulate the conditions of a manned flight to Mars, has been delayed more than six months. This was announced by Moscow’s Institute for Space Research (IMBP), which will host the experiment named “Mars-500”.

According to new data, a preliminary 105-day study is rescheduled for the first quarter of 2009. Accordingly the start date of the implementation of the 520-day experiment is also moved back. Maybe it will begin in late 2009, the Institute says.

IMBP notified all partners involved in the project of the postponement of the experiment, said a representative of the institution. He also said that at the moment, the institute had selected 10 Russians, who may take part in the ground “flight” to Mars. Six of them are participating in the ongoing two-week research study in the IMBP on the development of methods of non-surgical treatment of disorders that may arise during the flight to Mars.

The source also added that the institute completed the pilot complex ground volume 550 cubic meters, consisting of five airtight linked modules. The only module remaining unfinished is the one which simulates the Martian surface.

Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov had some complications after surgery on 16 June for lower stomach pain (he was treated by the urology department) and was put in intensive care, but was released from hospital on 23 June. He is 74 years old. (Relevant NASASpaceflight.com and CollectSpace threads)

News tidbits

A news roundup from NK; the usual computer translations. Cosmonaut sea survival training, Russia’s space budget, another space tourist craft proposal, the new Russian Orlan-MK spacesuits, an IMBP experiment.

Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №210:

18/06/2008/00:08 – The annual training of cosmonauts began in the District of Sevastopol, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet rescuers

At the Black Sea on June 17 began the annual training exercises for the cosmonauts. According to Igor Dygalo, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, “The training in the sea in the vicinity of Sevastopol Center is conducted by the GCTC cosmonauts in conjunction with the Office of Search and Rescue of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia.”

According to Dygalo, the purpose of exercises, which are a serious test for all participants in the upcoming flights, including backup crews and visiting crews, is “the development of the spacecraft crews’ skills of action after an unexpected splashdown of the capsule at descent.” Two Black Sea fleet vessels are provided for the cosmonauts’ training.

Weather in the area is conductive to the holding of the exercises: water temperature 21 degrees, cloudy, sea nearly completely calm.

20/06/2008/00:08 – Russia spends two times less in space than the USSR

Financing of Russian civil space has fallen more than twice since Soviet times, said Roskosmos. In 2007, the civilian space programs of Roskosmos was allocated $1.34 billion, while in 1989 the Soviet space program funding was $3.28 billion, said the report, published on the Federal Space Agency site.

From 1991 to 2004, Russia spent on space roughly the same as India. Only in 2004 did the budget of Roscosmos exceed that of the Indian Space Agency and amounted to $770 million. In 2006, funding for the Russian space program has been increased by another $100 million, the report said.

In so doing, it is still at $400 million below the cost of France for civilian space and $600 million below the cost of space in Japan. The European Space Agency is funding its space programme in the amount of $4.3 billion, that is more than three times as much as “generous” Russia. NASA’s space and aeronautics budget, the report noted, has grown from $11 billion to $17 billion since 1989. Over the past seven years, NASA costs are increasing annually by about $500 million.

Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №211:

24/06/2008/20:31 – Russian scientists began an experiment to prevent diseases requiring surgical intervention during interplanetary travel

At the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP), Russian Academy of Sciences an experiment began on June 24 that will help scientists to develop a methodology for treatment of diseases requiring surgical intervention for future interplanetary expeditions, reported IMBP press secretary Pavel Morgunov.

“The experiment will last about a month, during which at least 8 healthy volunteers aged from 20 to 35 years will be required several times during the day to lie in conditions simulating the effects of microgravity (where the legs are up in the air at 15 degrees above the head),” he explained. In doing so, scientists will conduct infusion therapy (intravenous solutions introducing various drugs) and observe the redistribution of body fluids during the stay of subjects under the conditions of “weightlessness”.

In orbital flight when a disease requires an urgent operation, or is a critical condition, there is the opportunity to suspend the expedition as soon as possible and return the cosmonaut to Earth, recalled Morgunov, but this would not be possible during an interplanetary mission. Therefore, when preparing the system of medical support for an interplanetary flight, scientists are obliged to consider these principles and develop techniques for treatment of these diseases.

One of the fundamental components of surgical care and intensive therapy is infusion therapy. Modern hardware makes it possible to carry out infusion therapy even under weightlessness conditions. However, since there is no data on the impact of infusion in different environments on the parameters of the central and peripheral hemodynamics, gas exchange microcirculation and tissue in conditions of spaceflight, the scientists suggested a series of experiments modeling the effects of spaceflight to determine the impact on the effectiveness of various infusion media. According to Morgunov, “it is planned to assess the influence of some solutions on the volume of circulating blood, central and peripheral hemodynamics, the state of the microcirculation, tissue gas exchange and rheological properties of blood.”

After each day “resting”, the subject will undergo a thorough examination, because the main purpose of the experiment is “to compare the effectiveness of some infusion media in compensating for the losses of fluid in conditions simulating the effects of microgravity.”

24/06/2008/20:31 On the ISS next year crews will work in open space in the new “smart” Russian spacesuit

On the ISS, where crews are now working in open space, the complete replacement of the “Orlan-M” Russian spacesuit with the more modern “Orlan-MK” is scheduled.. The first Orlan-MK will be taken into orbit at the end of this year on a Progress Russian cargo ship, and in early 2009, to the International Space Station will receive two more, Sergei Pozdnyakov – general director of the “Zvezda” Scientific and industrial enterprise, where all domestic spacesuits are manufactured – said Tuesday.

The new spacesuits will gradually replace the ISS Orlan-M at the end of their life, which have faithfully “served” several crews.

The Orlan-MK is the fifth Orlan version and the first computerized Russian spacesuit, Pozdnyakov said. In the process of donning the suit, it prompts the cosmonaut for the sequence of system checks he must follow before going out in open space and reports on the status of these systems. If there are abnormal situations – for example, increased consumption of oxygen, etc. – relevant information is displayed on the signal panel, with a warning beep and instructions on what procedure to follow.

The new “intelligent” spacesuit would avoid situations like what happened during the exit of ISS Expedition 9 in June 2004. At the very beginning of EVA activities, the TsUP Mission Control Center specialists recorded an oxygen leak in Michael Fincke’s spacesuit, and the crew was forced to return to the station. The determination of the cause of the pressure drop in the Orlan took several hours, and the EVA was postponed for a few days. Now the spacesuit itself will “communicate” with the cosmonaut as to the reason for his “malaise”.

According to Pozdnyakov, ISS Expedition 18, which will be launched into orbit in October, has already trained to operate the Orlan-MK. If a cosmonaut forgets a procedure during an EVA, a special program will help him translate into the more simple Orlan-M management regime.

The new EVA suit weighs 120 kg and has a service life of 15 EVAs within 4 years of operation. In open space it protects the cosmonaut from the low barometric pressure, ionizing radiation, solar power, and micrometeorites. The system uses a high-performance thermal method of diverting the heat emitted by man through a water cooling garment. The intensity of heat removal is manually controlled by the cosmonaut by reallocating water flows coming in the heat exchanger for cooling.

24/06/2008/20:31 in the Black Sea near Sevastopol Russian, Canadian and Dutch astronauts are training

In the Black Sea near Sevastopol cosmonauts from Russia, Canada and the Netherlands are training. “The purpose of training is to prepare cosmonauts for a possible splashdown in the sea in the event of unexpected situations in orbit,” Yurii Gidzenko – pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation, head of special training at the Cosmonaut Training Centre – told reporters .

“During one week we train two crew, which include not only Russian cosmonauts, but one astronaut each from Canada and Holland. They come to replace another two crews, who are also within seven days will be trained,” emphasized Gidzenko. In doing so, he clarified that “the technical equipment for training includes the Russian Black Sea Fleet ships and special equipment which was brought from the town of Star City.”

According Gidzenko, the sea training of cosmonauts was formerly conducted in Feodosia, Kudepste and other coastal cities. “For the past five years, cosmonauts have trained in Sevastopol. This is convenient and for us and the seamen the base is nearby with ships on the spot,” he said.

Gidzenko also noted the “close economic and scientific link” between Roscosmos and the National Space Agency of Ukraine. “We do not and never had problems with our Ukrainian colleagues,” the Russian pilot-astronaut asserted.

24/06/2008/20:31 – Russian small spacecraft “Dandelion”, designed exclusively for space tourism, to appear by 2012

A Russian small spacecraft (IAC) «Одуванчик» (Oduvanchik, “Dandelion”), designed exclusively for space tourism, will appear by 2012. This assumption was made on Tuesday at a press conference in Moscow by Igor Bulanov, Vice-Chancellor, Chairman of the department “Rocket and Space composite structures” at the Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman.

The specialized ship, which will “convey” only space tourists into orbit, is being developed by students and scientists at MSTU. According Bulanov “at the moment already started production of ship models.” “Tentatively, we expect to finish work by 2012,” he said.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, Dandelion can not be compared with any similar development in the world – it was “much cheaper and outperformed many other proposals.”

It is anticipated that Dandelion will take on board a pilot and four passengers or 600 kg of payload, and will perform a suborbital or orbital flights. It will be able to take off from a mobile automatic platform installed anywhere, and to land both with the aid of the parachutes and independently on a takeoff and landing runway.

“The Glass ceiling In Space”, Space Daily, 17/6. On the dismal state of Russia’s women cosmonauts (only 3 made it into space, and there are currently no active ones, though there is one in the training group, Elena Serova).

“Options for space tourists”, RIA Novosti, 23/6. Andrei Kislyakov opinion piece. Russia began space tourism, but has not managed it very well.

Pavel Vinogradov, a pilot-cosmonaut and deputy head of the Energiya Rocket Space Corporation, says: “Regrettably, space tourism is a big headache for us today. It does not resolve any financial problems, and undermines the foundations of our cosmonautics. We have to replace young cosmonauts with tourists… They are all good people but they are not professionals. Regrettably, we can only find room for them at the expense of professionals.”