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Russia says to bear brunt of space missions
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 11 - 10 - 2009


Russia expects to
extend the life of the International Space Station beyond 2015,
although Moscow must bear the brunt of flights after the United
States retires its shuttles, reuters quoted officials as saying on Sunday.
Space agency heads will meet in March 2010, probably in
Japan, to discuss the future of the International Space Station
(ISS), Alexei Krasnov, head of manned programmes at Russian
space agency Roscosmos, told a news conference.
"The main question to be raised is whether to extend the
life of the ISS beyond 2015. I believe the issue will be
approved," Krasnov said at Mission Control outside of Moscow.
He was speaking after a Russian-American crew returned to
Earth after a space odyssey lasting more than half a year. They
were accompanied by Canadian circus billionaire Guy Laliberte,
who spent about two weeks in space.
Russia's partners in the ISS are U.S. space agency NASA, the
European Space Agency and the Japanese and Canadian space
agencies.
NASA plans six more missions by its fleet of ageing space
shuttles after the construction of the $100 billion ISS is
completed. Afterwards, the shuttles will be retired, next year
or early in 2011.
Roscosmos head Anatoly Perminov was quoted by RIA news
agency on Sept. 25 as saying it had learned NASA could extend
the deadline to retire the shuttles.
Should it proceed, however, the retirement of U.S. shuttles
would increase the burden on Russia for manning the ISS, now in
orbit 360 km (225 miles) above Earth, said Vitaly Lopota,
general director of Russian spacecraft builder RKK Energia.
Lopota told the news conference Russia had doubled the
number of manned space flights to four this year and planned to
send six cargo ships per year to the space station, also more
than usual.
"We work economically, we live economically and we maintain
the station in an economical way," Lopota said.
NASA's future strategy is under review with a focus on
possible flights to Mars. It is also encouraging a private space
taxi project to the ISS.
A new rocket and capsule to transport astronauts to the ISS
is also being developed but will not be operational until about
2015. Until then, NASA will rely on Roscosmos and must pay $50
million per seat for flights to the ISS by Soyuz capsules.


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