The Watcher
New Member
does russia have what it takes to go space-military with its economy and suffering armedforces at home?
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Russia to Test New Soyuz Booster on Oct. 29
Mon Oct 25, 2004 09:16 AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's military will test a new-generation rocket booster this week that could eventually be used to launch civilian cargoes into space, Itar-Tass news agency said Monday.
Tass quoted Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as reporting to President Vladimir Putin that a Soyuz-M2 booster would blast off Friday from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwest Russia.
Ivanov told Putin the new booster would initially allow Russia to launch military satellites from launchpads inside Russian territory, Tass reported.
"If the test is successful, the new booster will in future also be used to deliver into orbit spacecraft with civilian, scientific and commercial cargoes," Ivanov said.
Russia has to use the Baikonur cosmodrome, nearly 3,000 km (1,800 miles) southeast of Plesetsk in the neighboring republic of Kazakhstan, to launch large satellites and manned spacecraft with its current Soyuz booster.
Baikonur's position nearer the equator means it can use the earth's rotation more effectively to catapult rockets into space, using less fuel than more northerly sites.
But Russia's space program is keen to launch more rockets from its own soil.
Ivanov said the new booster would also be launched from the Kouru space center in French Guyana under a deal between Russia and France, Tass reported.
source
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Russia to Test New Soyuz Booster on Oct. 29
Mon Oct 25, 2004 09:16 AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's military will test a new-generation rocket booster this week that could eventually be used to launch civilian cargoes into space, Itar-Tass news agency said Monday.
Tass quoted Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as reporting to President Vladimir Putin that a Soyuz-M2 booster would blast off Friday from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwest Russia.
Ivanov told Putin the new booster would initially allow Russia to launch military satellites from launchpads inside Russian territory, Tass reported.
"If the test is successful, the new booster will in future also be used to deliver into orbit spacecraft with civilian, scientific and commercial cargoes," Ivanov said.
Russia has to use the Baikonur cosmodrome, nearly 3,000 km (1,800 miles) southeast of Plesetsk in the neighboring republic of Kazakhstan, to launch large satellites and manned spacecraft with its current Soyuz booster.
Baikonur's position nearer the equator means it can use the earth's rotation more effectively to catapult rockets into space, using less fuel than more northerly sites.
But Russia's space program is keen to launch more rockets from its own soil.
Ivanov said the new booster would also be launched from the Kouru space center in French Guyana under a deal between Russia and France, Tass reported.
source