Conducting manned launches of Soyuz MS spacecraft on medium-sized Soyuz-ST rockets from Kourou will not require modification of the carrier. Dmitry Baranov, General Director of the Progress Rocket and Space Center (RCC), called TASS the condition for launching with a crew from the cosmodrome in French Guiana.
"There will be improvements on ground equipment. According to the rocket, I think not," the head said, adding that the emergency rescue system (SAS) "can be taken and brought, it is in the workshop, there is simply nowhere to put it."
Baranov noted that the rescue of the crew will require the involvement of additional aviation, since in case of incidents, the astronauts will be brought into the Atlantic Ocean.
The CEO added that the rockets adapt to a specific mission, taking into account the device of the launched vehicle. "It's not very capacious, but it's a job that is there every time," said the head of Progress.
In July, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin said that the possibility of transforming the launch complex of the Soyuz-ST rocket to Kura for manned programs for lunar exploration and missions to the Chinese orbital station was being discussed with European partners.
Ivan Potapov