It is a long story. Take the Mir space station. The core block was known as Salyut and Almaz--all known as DOS core blocks--like Zvezda on ISS.

What is plugged on the ends of Mir were TKS ferries/FGB tugs. Both the DOS and TKS were rather like Soviet versions of our Gemini MOL. Take a capsule, and place it atop a runt space-station segment. The hatch goes through the heat-shield. I am not BS'ing you--look up 'Almaz' on www.astronautix.com

The TKS was also to have such a system. Finally--the Sov's left the capsules off on the actual DOS and TKS, and put Soyuz docking hatches in their place. Two capsules were launched--one atop the other on the big Proton rocket--and both capsules were wrongly called mini-spaceplanes--Kosmos 881 and 882 IIRC. This stack was as high as one TKS ferry with its capsule atop it--so the shroud disguised everything.

The TKS ferry is like the Spekter module from Mir--and that tech is modified for the new Angara Super-Capsule, which is about the biggest capsule concept I've seen--closer to big Gemini--but also like an oversized Apollo.

Now names do change. The Orel/Ural flyback on www.spacedaily.com reminds me more of the Baikal fly-back--but that is another story. The former Soviets called nearly everything in space Kosmos-# and a lot of data is confusing.

But the new TKS derivative won't be a reusable craft if I understand you correctly?

__________________
To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

A partially reusable vehicle could carry up to 6 people -- not coincidentally a full crew of the International Space Station -- but also clearly featured capabilities for deep-space missions.

This site: www.russianspaceweb.com has most of the details I can find.

I see they have changed a few things again:

Here is the Mir-tech TKS:
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/tks.html

And the new capsule to be based upon it.
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/tks_followon.html

It's ride to be:
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara.html
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara3.html
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara100.html

Its competitor--the Kliper in detail, and the upper stage to go atop the R-7 Soyuz booster:
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/kliper.html
Kliper might ride on this--whose tech is used with the Angara-100:
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/zenit.html

Here is a story on the flyback booster:
http://www.cast.cn/en/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=484

The illustration is for an SSTO shuttle--the real flyback will look more like this:
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikal.html


************************************************** *****


In other news:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005...confirmed.html

April 13, 2005

Dean Acosta/Bob Jacobs
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1898/1600)

RELEASE: 05-250

DR. MICHAEL D. GRIFFIN TO BECOME NASA ADMINISTRATOR

The U.S. Senate tonight confirmed the nomination of Dr. Michael D. Griffin
as NASA's 11th Administrator. He is expected to be sworn in later this week.

President George W. Bush nominated Dr. Griffin as NASA Administrator in
March, while he was serving as the Space Department Head at Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory, Baltimore.

Dr. Griffin was President and Chief Operating Officer of In-Q-Tel, Inc.,
before joining Hopkins in April 2004. He also served in several positions
within Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Va., including Chief Executive
Officer of Magellan Systems, Inc.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Griffin served as Chief Engineer at NASA and as
Deputy for Technology at the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. He
also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland,
Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University.

PS they have changed the www.russianspaceweb.com site--so you will have to search awhile for more updates

Itar-Tass: ESA pledges support for Kliper?

And a bit below that: Russia Happy to take over ISS if US bails

__________________
"Its full of stars!"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8148275/

The Russians are pretty good at making announcements. But when it comes to money...

__________________
"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

Russian spacecraft will be the answer ?

http://www.physorg.com/news4929.html
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2....&PageNum=0

Europe blows hot and cold on Russian involvement. The R-7 pad being constructed at Kourou is about a year behind schedule. It will need hydrogen upper stage handling facilities if it is to launch Kliper. On page 33 of the June 27, 2005 AV Week is the article Sat Savings, which tells about hoe CNES will develope a 12-18kw., 6-8 ton platform for very large telecommunications satellites that we will see in the next decade--called Alpha Bus which "is designed for 5-meter-wide fairings on the next generation of commercial launchers."

Not even the Onega (Omega R-7) fitted for Kliper will lift that monster to Geosynch. Rumor has it that even the UR-500 Proton must be adapted to a five meter fairing to stay competitive.

Heavy lift needs will not go away:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1040

Another related topic
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3101

That would help Kliper get to orbit--the southerly launch point to get that last bit of help from Earth's rotation. R-7 is about the only launch vehicle I would risk placing a winged craft atop.

My mind is overheated here :wink:.

Is R-7 the vehicle Soyuz is launched on?

__________________
To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

Yes--though they don't call it R-7 any more. The Launch Vehicle itself is called Soyuz itself now--to add to the confusion.

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-05zz.html
http://en.rian.ru/science/20050727/40986242.html

Russia Schedules Clipper Spacecraft Launch

Shenzhou
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/china-05zzzzzq.html
China Ambitions
http://www.spacewar.com/news/china-05zzzzzm.html

Kliper
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/spacetravel-05zzzj.html

New Alliance
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/ukraine-05b.html
The Angara boosters:
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/angara5a.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/graphics/a/angara04.jpg
Big Air
http://www.irkut.com/en/
Putin as salesman
http://www.spacedaily.com/2005/05081....0x14rch7.html

USA and Europe offered Kliper outfitting contract
http://www.flightinternational.com/A...contracts.html
The developer of the six-crew Kliper reusable spacecraft, Russia’s Energia, has opened negotiations with European and US companies to outfit the vehicle’s flightdeck and interior.


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09...plane_funding/
The European Space Agency is asking member states to fund a two-year feasibility study into joining forces with the Russians to build Kliper, a new people-carrying space plane that will take over missions to the International Space Station.....Expensive as this sounds, the project would give Europe more autonomy in space - providing a route to exploring the moon that is not dependent on the USA, for instance. It is uncertain how the UK in particular will respond to the request for funds. The current space policy is that unmanned exploration is the most efficient way of doing good space science. Manned flights are not considered a priority.

Can the Russians make a comeback ( 2007 ) ?
Can the Russians make a comeback ( 2007 ) ?

The Comeback has been made. They are the dominant space power and have been ever since we killed the Saturns.

In July the Russian Cabinet approved a 10-year, US $10.7 billion space exploration program designed to put Russians on the Moon and Mars and restore the cash-starved space agency to its former Soviet glory.
The program specifies a manned mission to Mars and joint manned missions to the Moon with NASA. Some of the funding will be used to develop and build a new six-seater space shuttle called Klipper that will replace the current three-seater Soyuz manned launch vehicle, which is 38 years old and in urgent need of renewal.
http://www.newsahead.com/content/view/1010/71/
The 10-year civil exploration program will also include development of the Angara family of rockets and new modifications to the Soyuz-2 launch vehicle. Russia’s own interplanetary mission is also planned. This would send a probe to a Mars satellite to collect samples.

$44 million Soyuz deal reached
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/3568750.html
Move allows return of U.S. astronaut, transport of a new space station crew

I think it is more likely for Kliper to ride Zenit--the way things look now. Hard to say.

Re-usable Clipper spacecraft to be introduced by 2015

"The project is ready and we are already implementing it," said Nikolai Sevastyanov, the head of Russia's Energiya Rocket and Space Corporation. "We are planning to put the Clipper into use by 2015."

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060314/44286398.html