April 29, 2007: The three remaining U.S. Space
Shuttles will be retired in three years, leaving it to Russia to provide
transportation to and from the International Space Station. For that work,
Russia uses manned (up to three people) Soyuz and unmanned Progress space
capsules. The Progress is actually a variant of the Soyuz, and both weigh about
seven tons. These two space vehicles are used one time only, and were designed
in the 1960s. The Progress can deliver 2.7 tons of cargo (the Space Shuttle
capacity was about 15 tons). The U.S. is developing a reusable capsule, the 25
ton Orion, that can carry up to six personnel, or up to 3.5 tons of cargo (six
tons in s special cargo version). The Orion can land, via parachute and
airbags, anywhere, and be refurbished for up to ten trips. However, the Orion
won't be ready for use until 2015.
Currently, Russia builds two Soyuz and four
Progress capsules a year. For the 4-5 year period when there is no Shuttle or
Orion, Russia will build four Soyuz and seven Progress capsules a year. Russia
and the European Union have discussed developing new reusable craft, but only
the U.S. is actually moving forward with that idea. The Orion is based on the
American Apollo space capsule of the 1960s, which was a contemporary of the
Soyuz.
