Russian Space Agency To Develop New Winged Manned Spacecraft To Replace Soyuz MS - Head

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2020) The head of the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said in an interview with Sputnik that he instructed the agency's engineers to develop a winged manned space shuttle to replace the Soyuz MS spacecraft.

"If we are to make a replacement for the Soyuz MS for flying to orbital stations � as the exploitation of the Orel [space ship created for manned flights to the Moon] will be expensive for these purposes � we need to create a reusable spacecraft of a completely different configuration � something like the Buran [Soviet space shuttle] with the ability to land on runways.

I tasked our engineers with it. The [Rocket and Space Corporation] Energia and other teams will now offer options for such spacecraft," Rogozin said.

In late May, Rogozin already said that Roscosmos had plans to create a winged manned spacecraft capable of flying to Earth orbit stations.

Russia has a history of developing such spacecraft in the past, with the Buran space shuttle and Kliper winged spacecraft being the most prominent examples.