Head Russian company for manned space flight – RSC “Energia” reported a decrease in demand for transport spacecraft “Progress” as a result of the successful start of commercial operation of ships for the Dragon cargo supply the International Space station.
«Since October 2012 NASA can independently carry freight and return cargo to the ISS with the Dragon cargo spacecraft company SpaceX. In this regard, the demand for cargo ships “Progress” in the international market has declined significantly, “- says the report” Energy “in the I quarter of this year.
According to President of RSC “Energia” Vitaly Lopota, it is about reducing the order of “progress” in the third.
– After the Space Shuttle program in agreement with the partners in the ISS spacecraft production expanded to four manned “Soyuz” a year and six cargo “Progress”. Order now reduced to five “progress” in the year, and then planned to reduce to four, – he said.
Chapter RSC “Energia” was not able to specify the value of the “Progress” – according to his data, the complexity of the production of one such ship is in the range of up to 400 thousand labor hours. According to a source familiar with the situation in the Russian Space Agency, is now “export” price “Progress” of about $ 60 million This amount is recorded as a contribution of the Russian Federation to supply the ISS, but the RSC “Energia” gets a smaller amount.
also ship Dragon, built by a private company SpaceX, competition to Russian trucks should soon reach the ship Cygnus from the company Orbital Sciences Corporation. His demonstration flight is scheduled for the coming weeks. Cygnus was created under a contract with NASA as part of the same program “Commercial Orbital Transportation» (COTS), and that the Dragon.
In terms of Russian manned spacecraft in the face of RSC “Energia” still holds a monopoly – up to 2017 people to the ISS will get only the “Soyuz”. What’s next – is difficult to say. NASA predicts the emergence of alternatives to the U.S., “Union” in 2017, with the following caveat: if you are satisfied with the agency budget requests. These requests are not always met, that have served as the transfer date of commissioning the ship Orion. But at the RSC “Energia” suggest that the Russian monopoly in manned ships destroyed, as in the case of trucks.
«very successful flights Dragon opened a new page in the manned space program, and NASA confers on this ship high hopes. According to the contract between NASA and SpaceX a $ 1.6 billion plan that the spacecraft will carry cargo, and after 2017, and to deliver astronauts to the ISS. In this case, Russia and the RSC “Energia” will lose their monopoly on human spaceflight, “- says the report” Energy ».
August 3 last year, NASA has signed agreements with three companies to continue the development program Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCAP), under which funds development of the new manned spacecraft. Boeing received a $ 460 million, SpaceX – $ 440 million, Sierra Nevada Corporation – $ 212,5 million
SpaceX promises to create and certify the modification of manned spacecraft Dragon already in 2017. If something does not work out of the company and dates will move, it is already on the 2018 program is scheduled to start flights to the ISS ship CST-100 produced by Boeing. Start of operation of the new Russian manned spacecraft (PTC) at the same time is scheduled for 2020.
Director of Development Cluster Space Technologies and Telecommunications Fund “Skolkovo” Dmitry Paison believes the destruction of monopoly RSC “Energia” natural process.
– In the case of manufactured “Progress» not correct say about the impact of the market on the business of the company. For the RSC “Energia” is only the value of public procurement, its amount varies depending on the commitment to Roscosmos NASA. In the “Energy”, as far as we can judge, ready for this, and so diversified portfolio – said Paison.
According to Vitaly Lopota, vacated due to changes in order to “progress” resources will be used to develop a scientifically energy module for the ISS (NEM-1) and PTC ( project manned transport spacecraft of new generation). The contract for the establishment of the NEM-1 of more than 15 billion rubles “Energy” won last fall. The cost of creating complex PTC (except for the ship includes a missile unit emergency rescue, assembly-protection block and a range of ground-based assets) is estimated by experts RSC “Energia” of 160 billion rubles in 2012 prices.
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