'I whole heartedly agree with Kathy’s statement. I fully support Serena and I will always stand behind our astronauts.'
https://twitter.com/SenBillNelson/statu … 9035955200
Russia Mocks Boeing, Offering to Fix Its Broken Starliner Spacecraft
https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-of … -starliner
NASA stands by its astronaut after incendiary Russian claims
The Buran is now getting trashed by Vandalism?
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/4 … ace-center
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3x49y/ … h-graffiti
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/05 … e-history/
https://www.rt.com/russia/524881-vandal … -graffiti/
https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/26/buran_graffiti/
and what if one day some asshole were to graffiti over Neil Armstrong's footprint on the Moon
When this thread began relations with Russia were different, they were coming off the fall of the Soviet Union, they were working on the ISS with international partners, the attack of 911 was still in America's mind and the USA had just begun the invasion of Iraq...it was a different era and I believe relations between the US and Russia may have got worse since, Russia has hinted it will move away from the ISS and do its own space station, although its possible the USA and Russia might still work together on some post ISS project.
The thread could be updated with a new title even perhaps something like RussianNuke Spacetug or US Private Sector SpaceX - why can we not get it done sooner
I updated a new thread with planetary transportation news about a new Russian 'Space-Tug', it seems to be an interesting form of nuclear electric propulsion.
]]>I felt at the time that "Theirs could be up and in use if given a little more funding I think before our first flight of the cev. For they had proposed to use an existing rocket to launch it from. Much less delay than our own cev which is like you noted a long ways off not only for first flight but being manned is a period of 6 yrs beyound first flight.
"quote" from the first link in the topic:
Almost as soon as NASA announced its plans to develop a new spaceship that could work more like a Russian Soyuz craft than the shuttle, the Russians announced plans to deploy their own next-generation spaceship by 2010 and that new vehicle, dubbed the Clipper, could well look more like the shuttle than a Soyuz."
The recent news release still indicates 2010 for operation as indicated in the graphics. While the CEV has slipped from the orginal push towards 2010 back to first announced date of 2012 now to possibly 2014 for first flight.
]]>Yeah whatever
The Russians aren't raking in THAT much oil money
No BUT the budding partnership with China might lead in suprising directions...
]]>The Russians aren't raking in THAT much oil money
]]>RSC ENERGIA: CONCEPT OF RUSSIAN MANNED SPACE NAVIGATION DEVELOPMENT
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Russia's Next Spaceship: Alternative to NASA's CEV appears in some ways to be the Russian Federal Space Agency's answer to NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
Much like Nasa's current space vision, which separates astronaut crews and cargo into two launch vehicles that rendezvous in orbit, Russia's Clipper program is also divided into a two-rocket job.
European governments tentatively have declined to take a role in Russia’s Kliper manned space vehicle project, saying that Europe would not have control over the program and would be limited to being a small industrial contributor, according to European government officials.
Russia has proposed that ESA and Japan join Clipper as an alternative to NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle.
A lighter version of the Kliper six-crew reusable spacecraft is under consideration, say Russian and European sources.
The new variant would not have the accommodation module previously seen attached to the capsule. Instead, on reaching orbit, it would dock with a proposed space tug, the Parom, operating from the International Space Station (ISS).
on a booster smaller than the proposed Soyuz-3. This may make it easier to launch from French Guiana
Changes made to allow it to be more of a cargo hauler with the use of an in orbit tug:
The second half of the configuration will stay on orbit and act as a space tug, collecting the manned spacecraft and taking it to the ISS and, at the end of the mission, taking it back down to a re-entry de-orbit altitude.”
Proposed by Moscow-based Kliper developer Energia, the Parom space tug would enable use of an unmanned version of the spacecraft that carries about 25t of cargo. Like the manned version, the cargo variant would be towed to and from the ISS.