Europe to Join Russia in Building Next Space Shuttle

[Tyranny_R_US]

Thank Goodness the world doesnt revolve around U.S.

t's all but official—Russia and Europe will soon embark on a cooperative effort to build a next-generation manned space shuttle. Speaking at the Paris Air Show, in Le Bourget, France, in June, Russian space officials confirmed earlier reports from Moscow that their partners at the European Space Agency would join the Russian effort to build a new reusable orbiter, dubbed Kliper. After the cautious optimism they expressed at the beginning of 2005, Russians are now confident that their European partners will be on board for the largest, boldest Russian endeavor in spaceflight in more than a decade.

"The prospects of our cooperation are very good, and I think we will see official statements to this effect," said Alexander Derechin, the head of international relations at S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corp. Energia (known as RKK), in Korolev, Russia's prime developer of manned spacecraft. The question now is what contributions in hardware and expertise the European partners will provide.00

According to Vladimir Daneev, head of the division responsible for the development of Kliper at RKK, his company will likely seek European expertise in the development of the spacecraft's crew module, onboard avionics, and thermal protection. "We now want to understand which available European and Russian systems are best suited for this project," Daneev said.

URL: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/resource/aug05/0805nshut.html

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[wli]

1. the US falls further behind in science n/t