Today news has emerged from Russia (go here for the translation) that teams have been chosen for the development of both the Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS) and its launch vehicle, which it appears will be an evolution of the Samara Space Center Soyuz. This Aviation Week article talks about the team that will develop the rocket that will probably be known as Soyuz 3 in the short term
For official confirmation of the selections, the Russian Federal Space Agency has told Flight that, “we intend to publish the press release within a couple of days.”
Russia’s progress in finding a replacement for Soyuz, both rocket and spacecraft, has been almost as tumultuous as NASA’s public battles over its Ares I crew launch vehicle. Initially there was Kliper (or Clipper) and then it wasn’t and then the tender process was cancelled and then there was collaboration with the European Space Agency and then there wasn’t and now we have ACTS and possibly Soyuz 3, which was mooted sometime ago too
To be launched from the new cosmodrome at Vostochny in the far east of Russia the maiden flight dates are in the latter half of the next decade and if Khrunichev Space Center’s Angara’s development is a guidestick that is bound to slip
Thanks to Anatoly Zak for bringing the Russian news item about ACTS to Hyperbola’s attention
