On April 12, Cosmonautics Day is celebrated in the world. 62 years ago, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first in the world to fly into orbit. After completing one revolution around the Earth on the Vostok ship, he landed in the Saratov region. Yuri Borisov, Director General of the Roscosmos State Corporation, told TASS in an interview about the development of manned cosmonautics, the Russian lunar program and the tests of the promising Eagle spacecraft.
— What ways of development of manned cosmonautics do you see? The main thing remains the work on the promising Russian orbital Station (ROS) or the flight to the Moon? When will a Russian cosmonaut be able to visit the moon?— Both directions are key for the development of Russian manned cosmonautics.
Roscosmos is developing a preliminary design of a new Russian orbital station, during which its appearance will be determined and the main deployment option and the inclination of the target orbit of the station will be selected. We have attracted a wide range of the public to the discussion of what the ROS should be, from specialized universities to the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As for the flight to the Moon, for the mission to land an astronaut on the surface of the Moon, it is necessary to approve the program for the creation of a superheavy-class space rocket complex (KRK STK). Currently, the draft program, as well as the development and approval of the lunar program are being approved by the Federal Executive authorities (federal executive authorities — approx. TASS).
— When will the preparation of astronauts for flights to the ROS begin?— After the preliminary design of the Russian orbital station is approved.
Based on the results of this work, the development of a program for preparing crews for flight according to the ROS expedition program will begin.
— If we talk about the promising manned ship "Eagle", will it be ready for the first flight in 2024? What is the condition of the works?— The manned Eagle is at the stage of manufacturing mock-ups and experimental products, conducting autonomous tests of the ship's components.
Work has begun on experimental testing of a manned transport ship on full-size models.
Initially, flight tests of the PTK (a promising transport ship — approx. TASS) was planned to be carried out with docking to the International Space Station. But taking into account the fact that we are simultaneously working on the creation of a new orbital station, it seems logical to link the spacecraft and ROS systems, synchronize flight tests with the deployment of ROS. Roscosmos is developing a federal project to create the ROS space complex. It will include funds for the creation of ground infrastructure for launching modules and PTK from the Vostochny cosmodrome.
— Will the ship retain the name "Eagle" or will it be renamed?— There are no plans to rename the ship "Eagle".
— One of the main directions of Roscosmos now is the serial production of satellites. Is it possible to start mass production of spaceships in order to increase the number of space tourists?— The serial production of spacecraft is already being worked out by PJSC RSC Energia, the developer and manufacturer of Soyuz MS and Progress MS.
The approach to this issue requires special attention — first of all, we must ensure the safety of astronauts.
— Is the flight of tourists expected in the foreseeable future? When? And astronauts from other countries? Perhaps African countries have expressed a desire to fly into space on Russian "Unions"?— Negotiations are underway with representatives of a number of foreign countries on the possibility of organizing manned space missions for them.
The negotiations are at different stages. You will learn about the results after reaching agreements and concluding contracts.
