Russia abandoned the new spaceship
Bad news come from the Russian space industry. Currently, cargo delivery to orbit is carried out by Russia with the help of the old Progress space cargo trucks. Their carrying capacity is small - only 2,6 tons - and inferior to competitors from the United States of America, the European Union and Japan. For comparison, the Japanese Kounotori lifts 6,2 tons, the American Cygnus - 3,4, and Dragon - all 6 tons.
In 2016, the Russian space corporation Energia announced the development of a new Russian space cargo vehicle of increased payload, which was supposed to correct this situation. The creation by Roscosmos of a new space truck was to reduce the cost of delivering cargo to the ISS and reduce the number of launches.
Also, the ship could be used to bring the International Space Station from its orbit. The spacecraft was to be launched into space by the new Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle, the carrying capacity of which was increased by almost a ton.
However, work on an extended-capacity space truck in Russia was suspended at the sketch stage. At Energia, it was estimated that its cost would be three Progresses, and the probability of failures in the new technology higher than the proven workhorses of Roscosmos.
In 2016, the Russian space corporation Energia announced the development of a new Russian space cargo vehicle of increased payload, which was supposed to correct this situation. The creation by Roscosmos of a new space truck was to reduce the cost of delivering cargo to the ISS and reduce the number of launches.
Also, the ship could be used to bring the International Space Station from its orbit. The spacecraft was to be launched into space by the new Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle, the carrying capacity of which was increased by almost a ton.
However, work on an extended-capacity space truck in Russia was suspended at the sketch stage. At Energia, it was estimated that its cost would be three Progresses, and the probability of failures in the new technology higher than the proven workhorses of Roscosmos.
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