How embarassing - Russia may beat US to a new spacecraft

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-02-18 04:56pm

Russian Aerospace Agency director announces new vehicle in progress

The high and mighty US has been pissing around about building a new manned space vehicle for a decade, and the decripit Russians may well beat us to it. Supposed to be a reusable 6-man orbital vehicle, around 13 metric tons. God knows how many billions of dollars NASA has thrown at the OSP idea, and Russia just goes ahead and decides to do it. It has reached a "serious project stage" according to director Koptev.

He also expresses some amusing doubts about the US aims to go to the Moon and to Mars.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-02-18 04:58pm

"But...but...we need to fix the problems HERE first!"

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-02-18 05:08pm

I hope they do beat us, in any case. We need a fucking wake-up call.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2004-02-18 05:10pm

Same here, Joe. If they beat us to it, then it'll maybe get our sense of competition back up.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-02-18 05:14pm

Joe wrote:I hope they do beat us, in any case. We need a fucking wake-up call.

Damn straight. The Cold War had the US up-to-spec, but now it's pussified at least in terms of space travel now.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-02-18 05:37pm

hopefully the russians don't take shortcuts with this new space craft like they've had a tendency to do with most of their groundbreaking technology in the past.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-02-18 08:02pm

Well there not really beating the US too it, given that there current spacecraft dates to the sixties, it more of a catching up with the shuttle thing.

Kamakazie Sith · Post by **Kamakazie Sith** » 2004-02-18 08:12pm

Darth_Zod wrote:hopefully the russians don't take shortcuts with this new space craft like they've had a tendency to do with most of their groundbreaking technology in the past.

Indeed, else this shuttle may truly be groundbreaking....

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-02-18 08:22pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:Well there not really beating the US too it, given that there current spacecraft dates to the sixties, it more of a catching up with the shuttle thing.

but surely you remember the crowning achievement that was the Space Shuttle built by the soviets in the late 80's.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2004-02-18 08:32pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:Well there not really beating the US too it, given that there current spacecraft dates to the sixties, it more of a catching up with the shuttle thing.
but surely you remember the crowning achievement that was the Space Shuttle built by the soviets in the late 80's.

Yes. One of my friends owns a tile of it that he bought on a study-abroad trip to Russia a couple years ago.

Naturally, I have many questions about their ability to fund the building and then the launching of the vehicle. Not that I don't have many questions about the American programs...

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-02-18 08:35pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:
but surely you remember the crowning achievement that was the Space Shuttle built by the soviets in the late 80's.

Well I do seem to recall something about it being a restaurant in Kazakhstan.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-02-18 09:10pm

They've been kicking this around for a while. I remember reading about it in either Popular Mechanics or Popular Science four or five years ago.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2004-02-18 10:16pm

Joe wrote:I hope they do beat us, in any case. We need a fucking wake-up call.

Even if we do start a new long term project up, how do we protect it from being axed by Congress when they decide that it's not necessary? I mean, Congress shut down the Superconducting Supercollider when it was almost done, and what's worse is that it cost more to disassemble than just finishing the damn thing and then running it for a year.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2004-02-18 10:18pm

Well, if the Russians manage it, good for them. And maybe it'll kick start the US space program.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-02-18 10:36pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:Well there not really beating the US too it, given that there current spacecraft dates to the sixties, it more of a catching up with the shuttle thing.

Forget '88 Buran?

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2004-02-19 03:59am

Koptev said that the prospective Russian spacecraft would be intended for orbital flights, not moon missions.

He said that Russia and other partners in the 16-nation International Space Station were waiting for the United States to clarify how the orbiting outpost would be run after 2010 when U.S. space shuttles will retire.

Koptev said that Russia would be willing to offer its Soyuz spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the station after the U.S. shuttles retire, but that would require renegotiating the original documents on the station.

Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft have served as the only link to the station since the U.S. shuttle fleet was grounded pending investigation into the destruction of the shuttle Columbia during its return to Earth in February 2003.

Koptev said that his agency has enough funds to send the two Soyuz and two Progress spacecraft necessary to operate the station this year. He said that Russian and European space officials are currently negotiating the possibility of sending a European astronaut on a six-month mission to the station in a Soyuz.

You can almost see it: "A Russian craft, flown by Russians, carrying along a few poor Americans who need our help tsk tsk. That also doesn't look too bad on the front page of Pravda."

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-02-19 04:20am

[quote]Well there not really beating the US too it, given that there current spacecraft dates to the sixties, it more of a catching up with the shuttle thing./quote]

Bah, what's to catch up to? The Soyuz is the most successful spacecraft in history. The shuttle ... isn't. They're still making new versions of the mighty Soyuz too.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-02-19 06:45am

Vympel wrote:
Well there not really beating the US too it, given that there current spacecraft dates to the sixties, it more of a catching up with the shuttle thing./quote]

Bah, what's to catch up to? The Soyuz is the most successful spacecraft in history. The shuttle ... isn't. They're still making new versions of the mighty Soyuz too.

Nothing wrong with the Buran that a lick of paint and several billion dollars of engineering funding couldn't fix...

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-02-19 06:53am

The Buran actually visited Australia a few years ago. So it's not in a restaraunt in Kazakhstan.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-02-19 07:12am

Vympel wrote:The Buran actually visited Australia a few years ago. So it's not in a restaraunt in Kazakhstan.

In how many pieces?

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-02-19 07:36am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Vympel wrote:The Buran actually visited Australia a few years ago. So it's not in a restaraunt in Kazakhstan.
In how many pieces?

Almost as many as Skylab.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-02-19 07:36am

Col. Crackpot wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Vympel wrote:The Buran actually visited Australia a few years ago. So it's not in a restaraunt in Kazakhstan.
In how many pieces?

Almost as many as Skylab.

The US and Russia must really hate Australia.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2004-02-19 01:23pm

Patrick Degan wrote:You can almost see it: "A Russian craft, flown by Russians, carrying along a few poor Americans who need our help tsk tsk. That also doesn't look too bad on the front page of Pravda."

I love that movie.

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2004-02-19 02:16pm

Talk about reality imitating art