A rising full moon is seen over the distinctive twin towers of Germany's Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt in this January 28, 2002 file photo.
Photo: Reuters
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Roskosmos, ESA to Create Spaceship for Moon Flights
Russia’s Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) and European Space Agency (ESA) have agreed to jointly design a transporting spaceship for the near-earth flights and moon missions, said people in the news service of Roskosmos.
Based on their unique experience and available technology, ESA and Roskosmos are willing to jointly create a high-tech vehicle that will carry the crew of six to the near-earth and near-moon orbits.
Russia’s Rocket and Cosmic Corporation (RCC) Energia and Europe’s Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium spent half a year thoroughly studying different concepts of the vehicle’s design, including a winged structure, bearing body and a conic module. The choice was made after the comparative analysis and with regard to the RF plans to construct Vostochny spaceport.
A new transporting vehicle should be of conic design, the experts decided in the end. They will use Russia’s booster with the load carrying capacity of 18 tons to 20 tons. The first launches will be made from Vostochny spaceport. The flight tests are slated for 2015 and the first manned mission could be accomplished in 2018.
www.kommersant.com
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