Russia will create a spaceplane for flights to the national orbital station

General designer of the Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia Vladimir Solovyov presented a project of a reusable spaceplane for flights to the Russian Orbital Station (ROS). According to Mr. Solovyov, the launch of the spaceplane into orbit will be carried out by the Angara medium-class launch vehicle. The ship will have a crew of four people.

Vladimir Solovyov demonstrated the configuration of the spaceplane at the plenary session of the XLVIII Academic Readings on Cosmonautics in memory of S.P. Queen. “The cosmoplane is an aircraft with a composite glider of the “load-bearing body” type with a deflectable swept V-shaped wing,” said Mr. Solovyov (quoted from “Interfax”). From his presentation it follows that the ship is intended for reusable use.

Among the main advantages of the spaceplane, the general designer of RSC Energia named a wider selection of possible landing areas and reduced costs for search and rescue operations. In addition, according to Vladimir Solovyov, the use of such a ship will reduce the overload experienced by astronauts, and therefore will help develop space tourism.

Roscosmos announced plans to leave the International Space Station and develop ROS in 2022. According to the head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, construction of the new station should be completed before 2032. It is assumed that the first ROS module will be launched in 2027, and astronauts will be sent to it in 2028.

Read more in the Kommersant FM article. “ROS for calculation”.

Milena Kostereva