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Launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying new crew members to the International Space Station in 2012.
Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA
J & Spent several days in June with a group of journalists to watch the launch of the Expedition 56 crew at the International Space Station (ISS). To do this, we had to travel to Moscow, be supported by a charter company, and fly to the remote desert town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
We completed our trip on June 8 in Moscow when the crew successfully docked at the ISS. At that time, a small group of representatives from NASA, Europe and the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos gathered at TsUP (Russian Mission Control) to talk about the mission.
But when asked about the future, the conversation suddenly becomes vague. Consensus: Discussions are under way and the public will have to wait. [Roscosmos: Russia’s Historic Space Centers in Pictures]
No commitment from NASA after 2019
Everyone who visits the International Space Station must do so throughout Kazakhstan today. Since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011, there is no other ship capable of carrying people there in addition to Soyuz, the Russian warhorse of several decades. NASA buys seats for its astronauts; each mission is worth tens of millions of dollars. But the situation will soon change.
Two companies – Boeing and SpaceX – are developing commercial crew vehicles to transport astronauts to the ISS. They should start flying crews a year or two from now, at least if the current development schedule is respected. And NASA has not committed to buying seats after 2019, I said several officials while I was in Moscow. That made me think – what is the future of Roscosmos with less money coming from international partners?
"This will certainly be a problem for the agency in terms of funding, for which it has struggled lately" Michael Dodge, a researcher in space law and politics at the University of Dakota North in Grand Forks, Space.com has an email. "The United States pays a lot of money for every seat they occupy on the Soyuz, which helps offset the costs of preparing, maintaining and launching this vehicle." Of course, Russia has its own interests aboard the ISS. Still it is necessary to launch his cosmonauts at the station until he decides to no longer want to perform operations there.
"If the number of launches that they must achieve remains stable compared to current programs, they could see a significant increase in operating costs as they would launch the US-free spaceship paid for. On the other hand, they would be able to increase the number of cosmonauts who are brought back and taken to the station, "Dodge said. [Touring Baikonur: The Town Behind the Famed Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan]
Beyond the ISS
The Trump administration is committed to funding the ISS until 2024, but the last budget request does not include the following: There is no money for the space station, while NASA can focus its resources on the Deep Space Gateway, a lunar space station that plays a role in the administration's request to send to new astronauts on the moon. Europeans have shown some interest in the Deep Space Gateway, but for Roscosmos, their direction is unclear: the agency could join NASA on another space station, fend for itself or stand alone. to combine with new spaces. "President Trump noted that he would like to see cooperation between states [nations] in the space, so it remains to be seen whether the United States would be interested in securing Russian p at some point in the future, or if Russia would like to participate if asked (given the possibility that they wish to create their own station), "said Dodge. "In the meantime, Russia could establish a stronger link with China, which, as a new emerging space power, might be interested in wooing Russian expertise in engines and launching procedures."
According to Dmitry Rogozin, who was once the Russian government's "point-man" for the defense and space industries, as Space News points out. He is best known in US circles for a tweet in 2014, written amid Western sanctions after Russian military activities in Crimea. Referring to the fact that NASA is relying on Roscosmos to launch astronauts, Rogozin suggested that NASA use trampolines to send its astronauts to the ISS
Rogozin takes over as Roscosmos tries to "get rid of it." increase the launch rate in Vostochny, its new launch complex in the Far East. The complex had its share of building problems, and already a rocket failure in its young history. Vostochny is supposed to replace Baikonur, which would put the Russians on Russian soil. Currently, Russia pays an annual rent (7.2 billion rubles, or 115 million dollars) to Kazakhstan to use the Baikonur cosmodrome
"A new leader signals a change for Roscosmos, and with Dmitry Rogozin in the post , it probably means that Russian leaders want someone with extensive experience in managing the government's space affairs to take control of what has been perceived – fairly or not – as a difficult start with the current operations of the government. new cosmodrome, "said Dodge. He added that US observers should not have "too much anguish" over Rogozin's past comments on NASA, because the Russian and US space programs have continued to cooperate for four years despite their disagreements over Crimea.
@Spacedotcom Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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