why Kliper isn't going to make it. Russian overstatements!

[JonClarke]

Zenuit does fly regularly and reliably, the issue is that it is manufactured in the Ukraine, not Russia. But Ukraine has expressed and interest in the Kliper progam, so this should not be a problem, I though of thought. <br /><br />So I suspect at this stage that Russians are just demonstrating the options that are open to them, if for example Ukraine pulls out they can still go ahead with Kliper without waiting for Onager or Angara. Ptresumably Kliper light can always be stretched at a later date if neccessary.<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[spacefire]

that makes sense, but only if the Kliper proves successful enough to bring the Russia industry some cash inflow. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[avmich]

I haven't heard about works on the possibility of attaching a propulsion module to the Klipper capsule when a more capable launcher becomes available, but the idea seems quite obvious.<br /><br />The current state, as of mid-December, of the Klipper project is that Energia is preparing papers for Klipper - that is, Energia's Klipper - to be formally approved by Federal Space Agency (Russian analog for NASA) as the government ordered next generation manned spacecraft. The papers have to be submitted next February, so in order to be ready, Energia has to settle down on a specific version of the ship by around the end of December, and work on paper preparation during January and early February.<br /><br />There is formally announced competition among projects, so FSA can choose the best one. Competitors rumored are NPO Molnia, former maker of major parts of Buran, and Khrunichev Spacecenter, the maker of Protons and some modules for space stations (MKS's Zarya being the latest). And of course Energia. Most expect Energia's design to win, but the final results of the competition will become available not earlier than February. On the other hand, the "frozen" Klipper configuration may - or may not - become known before that, possibly (but not likely, in my opinion) even late December.

 

[JonClarke]

Thanks! Keep us posted.<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[avmich]

Rumors are, the competition goes from Jan 15th till Feb 15th. I.e., after Feb 15 we might learn which design was accepted by Federal Space Agency. It's not clear yet that Kliper from RKKE will win.

 

[krrr]

If I understand correctly, the 3 competing designs are:<br /><ul type="square"><li>RKK Energia, proposing the Clipper<li>Khrunichev, proposing a variant of their TKS (Apollo-like capsule) spacecraft<li>NPO Molniya, proposing something similar to MAKS, a mini-shuttle launched from an An-225 airplane.<br /></li></li></li></ul>

 

[n_kitson]

That's interesting - I did not know that Molniya had drafted another MAKS proposal. Do you have any additional details on this that you can share with us?<br /><br />Krunichev has an interesting concept with their TKS proposal, and it may even been superior to Kliper. However, I am doubtful that it will get the nod. It requires a new booster which would make it impossible to launch from Korou and would require lots of additional funding.