SPACE.com -- Russia Will Fly Soyuz Taxi Flights to ISS, Plans Busy Year

Icy cold weather with fog obscures the TV picture from Kazakhstan as a Proton M rocket lifts off Dec. 29, 2002, creating this blurry work of natural art.

A Proton K rocket lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Nov. 25, 2002 carrying the Astra-1K satellite.

ILS Scores Success for Proton M Launch of Nimiq 2

Proton Upper Stage Fails, Leaves Astra 1K in Useless Orbit


	Russia Will Fly Soyuz Taxi Flights to ISS, Plans Busy Year By SPACE.com Staff posted: 12:30 pm ET 22 January 2003

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Russian Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) chief Yuri Koptev promises there will be two piloted Soyuz taxi flights to the International Space Station (ISS), according to Russian media reports.

Three launches of Progress freighters to the outpost also are planned, with the first scheduled for Feb. 2 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

In other news, Russia's space officials discussed their future plans and updated the progress of existing programs, according to reports by the Interfax News Agency.

Russian cosmonauts working in space will conduct 58 experiments in medicine, biology, technology and geophysics -- with 10 of those the result of commercial contracts.

Koptev said Russia would continue to develop the Express-AM communication satellite constellation, a Sich-1M oceanographic satellite and two Yamal-200 telecom and television satellites.

Russia also will continue to modernize the Soyuz and Proton rockets this year and will improve the new Fregat and Briz-M booster engines. The first Soyuz 2 rocket could be flown in 2004, said Rosaviakosmos deputy general director Alexander Kuznetsov.

Proton flights should resume soon now that the final report of the Nov. 26, 2002 explosion of a Proton K rocket is in. Russian investigators concluded that the problem was with the Block DM upper stage's main engine and called the event an "isolated incident."

Meanwhile, it's still not clear if there will be a space tourist on the April Soyuz taxi flight, Interfax reported.

Rosavikosmos spokesman Sergei Gorbunov said the April mission will be commanded by Gennady Padalka, with veteran European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain serving as flight engineer. The third seat is likely to be occupied by another Russian cosmonaut or be used to carry cargo.

Finally, the Expedition Seven crew destined to begin a four-month stay at the ISS is as Star City outside Moscow this week participating in a series of "qualifying exercises" for their flight, Interfax reported.

The crew includes Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko, Alexander Kaleri and American astronaut Edward Lu. Sergei Krikalev, Sergei Volkov and John Phillips are the backup crewmembers.

If Russian mission managers decide on Thursday that the crew is ready for flight, the cosmonauts and astronauts will fly to Houston to finish their training.