러시아 신형우주선 모습 공개

 

러시아 신형우주선 모습 공개

[연합뉴스] 2008년 07월 23일(수) 오전 09:42

(서울=연합뉴스) 이유진 기자 = 최근 영국에서 열린 판버러 국제 에어쇼에서 러시아의 소유스 우주선을 대체할 유인 우주선의 이미지가 최초 공개됐다고 영국 BBC 뉴스 인터넷판이 22일 보도했다.

미국의 차세대 우주선 오리온과 경쟁하게 될 신형 우주선은 지구 귀환 때 착륙이 불안정했던 과거 모델의 단점을 보완하기 위해 제어로켓을 사용한다. 유럽항공우주국(ESA) 역시 이 우주선을 이용할 전망이다.

러시아 국영 우주선 제작사인 RKK 에네르기야사가 출품한 무게 18∼20t 상당의 이 우주선은 저(低)지구 궤도상에서 6명을 태울 수 있고 달 궤도 진입의 경우 4명의 우주인을 태울 수 있다. 신형 우주선의 가장 큰 특징은 제어로켓과 우주선 밑바닥의 착륙장치.

러시아의 항공우주 분야 작가이자 그래픽디자이너인 아나톨리 자크는 이 장치를 사용해 대기권 진입 후 착륙의 충격을 완화할 수 있을 것이라고 말했다. 러시아연방우주국(로스코스모스)과 ESA는 현재 우주인수송체계(CSTS) 관련 협력 방안을 논의 중이다.

신형 우주선은 ESA가 개발해 최근 국제우주정거장(ISS)에 화물을 전달했던 무인 우주화물선(ATV)의 추진장치 등 핵심 기술을 사용할 전망이며 러시아의 보스토치니 극동 우주센터에서 발사될 예정이다.

연합뉴스 

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Manned spaceship design unveiled 

By Paul Rincon

Science reporter, BBC News

 

                  Russian firm RKK Energia has spent two years designing the vehicle

The first official image of a Russian-European manned spacecraft has been unveiled.

It is designed to replace the Soyuz vehicle currently in use by Russia and will allow Europe to participate directly in crew transportation.

The reusable ship was conceived to carry four people towards the Moon, rivalling the US Ares/Orion system.

Unlike previous crewed vehicles, it will use thrusters to make a soft landing when it returns to Earth.

Russian aerospace writer and graphic designer Anatoly Zak has produced artist's renderings of the new craft based on a design released by Russian manufacturer RKK Energia at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK last week.

In some respects, the capsule resembles America's next-generation spacecraft Orion. The 18-to-20-tonne Russian-European vehicle is designed to carry six crew into low-Earth orbit and four on missions to lunar orbit.

One of the most unusual features about the capsule appear to be the thrusters and landing gear on its underside. Mr Zak said it would use these engines to soften its landing on Earth after the fiery re-entry through our atmosphere.

The European Space Agency (Esa) has been talking to its Russian counterpart Roscosmos about collaborating on the Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS) since 2006.

Launcher decision

"If Esa and the Russian Space Agency reach agreement, Europe will supply the service module of that co-operative spacecraft," Mr Zak told BBC News.

This service module will use technology - such as the propulsion systems - developed for Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), an unmanned freighter recently sent to re-supply the International Space Station (ISS).

Russia may provide the launcher for the new manned spacecraft. This might be an entirely new vehicle, or a modification of an existing rocket. 

                                   Thrusters would cushion the spacecraft's landing

Mr Zak said Russia was insisting in its negotiations with Europe that all future manned projects be based in Vostochny, the new cosmodrome being developed in Russia's eastern Amur region. The Russian government wants to host its first manned launch from that site in 2018.

At the moment, all manned Soyuz launches take place from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Alternatively, the space agencies could opt to "man-rate" Europe's Ariane 5 launcher, which lifts off from Kourou in French Guiana. This would allow the rocket to carry humans into space.

This would involve making major modifications to Kourou spaceport, including the development of infrastructure to support a crew escape system in the event of an emergency.

It is quite possible that both launch sites would play a role in any collaborative programme, which would necessitate the lofting of cargo as well as human crew.

However, if this collaboration falls apart, Europe has another option for direct manned access to space.

Other option

In May this year, European aerospace company EADS Astrium unveiled its own model of a crewed space vehicle, described as an "evolution" of the ATV, which was built by a consortium of European companies led by Astrium.

It would combine what is essentially the avionics and propulsion end of the ATV with a crew compartment taking the place of the current cargo section.  

                         EADS Astrium has proposed a manned version of the ATV

Mr Zak commented: "I think the main roadmap is the agreement between the European and Russian space agencies. That is their Plan A. Their Plan B is the initiative made by EADS Astrium in Bremen."

But if the agencies want a manned craft capable of reaching the Moon, they will need to develop new, more powerful rockets than those on the drawing board today.

"This is an open question, there are no decisions on how to proceed," said Mr Zak.

The CSTS is also sometimes referred to as the Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS). Esa and Roscosmos started talks on the project after some Esa member states rejected further involvement in the development of another manned spacecraft called Kliper.

The proposals will go before a crucial meeting of space ministers from European member states in November this year.

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Berlin unveils 'crewed spaceship' 

By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News 

 

            The crew capsule replaces what was a cargo compartment on Jules Verne

A model of a proposed European manned spaceship has gone on show at the Berlin Air Show.

The design, which has been produced by EADS Astrium, is based on the unmanned "Jules Verne" freighter recently sent to the International Space Station.

Astrium says a crewed version of the truck is a logical evolution, and could fly in the next decade if it received support from European governments.

Key states - Germany, France, and Italy - are said to be very interested.

The model unveiled at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Berlin is one-for-one in scale.

The idea is to combine what is essentially the avionics and propulsion end of Jules Verne (also known as the Automated Transfer Vehicle - ATV) with a crew compartment taking the place of the current cargo section.

European dependence

"From the outside, the overall shape is representative," explained Frank Pohlemann, the vice-president for strategy and market development at EADS Astrium Space Transportation. 

 

                   Astrium believes a crewed evolution of the ATV is a logical next step

"The interior is more PR-orientated. We have three leather benches in there; we have touch screens - we can show simulated flights on the monitors; but of course the accessible volume is a lot larger than the real vehicle, which would have lots of equipment, a docking port, and these kinds of things."

But if the interior of the model has a somewhat playful feel for ILA showgoers, Astrium says it is very serious about wanting to take its space freighter to a new level of capability.

At the moment, European Space Agency (Esa) astronauts must fly into orbit in a Russian Soyuz or an American shuttle.

The issue of an independent European crew transportation system is currently a hot topic and likely to be on the agenda when space ministers meet for their meeting in The Hague in November.

Two steps

Astrium, which has funded the latest concept work itself, says the costs involved in developing its "ATV Evolution" would be very reasonable. It proposes the work be done in two stages.

The first would be to give the freighter a means of returning non-human items to Earth safely - something it cannot do at present. 

 

                                             How the crewed ship would look

This would be much appreciated by Europe's space partners who will have very limited means of returning materials - science results and failed components - from the International Space Station (ISS) once the US shuttles are retired in 2010.

Astrium says this stage could be flying by 2013 and would cost "well below one billion euros" to achieve.

If ministers agreed, the re-entry freight capsule could then be upgraded to carry three astronauts in a second stage of development.

The maiden mission of a crewed capsule could come in perhaps 2017.

Mr Pohlemann said the cost of achieving this objective would be "in the frame of a couple of billion" euros.

Ariane role

The two-stage approach would be a clear strategy that space ministers could follow and assess, the Astrium VP added.

"By having flights of the cargo system first, you can already contribute to the qualification of the later crew version," he told BBC News.  JULES VERNE - ATV

 

1.The ship was produced by a consortium of European companies led by EADS Astrium

2.The ATV is the first completely automated rendezvous and docking ship to go to the ISS

3.Once the US shuttle is retired, it will be the largest supply vessel going to the space station

4.Astrium believes it to be a versatile vehicle that could be adapted for crew transportation

"For us, this is about opening up options. Instead of diving into studies and spending the next five or six years with no concrete development, what we propose is to do something now and open up options."

Astrium is buoyed by the success of Jules Verne, which is packed with sophisticated navigation, rendezvous and docking technologies; and by its work done on the Columbus science module which was also despatched to the space station this year.

The pan-European company believes both vessels amply demonstrate just how far European competence in space technology has come in recent years; and that a crewed ship is now the obvious direction in which to go.

It would need a rocket to take it into orbit and the Ariane 5 is considered to be the most suitable option by Astrium. The rocket dominates the market for commercial satellite launches but was originally designed with human flights in mind.

"We believe you could take the existing Ariane-5 lower-composite and outfit it with a series of sensors to tell the vehicle riding on top that something might be going wrong or everything is fine," Mr Pohlemann said.

"We don't have these sensors at the moment, but for the rest we think we can take the existing Ariane 5."

'Small step'

The ATV Evolution is not the only concept work being undertaken in this arena.

Astrium itself is part of a separate Esa-funded study that is looking at the possibility of developing a crew capability in tandem with the Russians.

Known as the Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS), this project envisages a bigger, more capable ship than Russia's existing Soyuz system. However, this is almost certainly a more expensive option because it would require the use of an entirely new rocket.

Europe's biggest space company describes its ATV Evolution study as "an important contribution to the political decision-making process" - and it is timely.

Esa boss Jean-Jacques Dordain has spoken frequently of his desire to see an independent system; and the US space agency (Nasa) chief, Mike Griffin, has also urged Europe to build its own crew carrier.

Speaking in March at the time of the launch of Jules Verne, Mr Griffin said Europe needed only to take a "small step" to have that capability.