One of the versions of a new-generation Russian spacecraft to be launched from the Vostochny spaceport in the Amur region will be able to return up to 2 tonnes of cargo from orbit to the Earth, a source from the Russian space rocket industry told Interfax-AVN.
"Possessing an unmanned cargo-returning spacecraft is becoming especially important to Russia with the end of the U.S. space shuttle operations," the source said.
Until lately, cargos from the International Space Station (ISS) have been returned on board U.S. shuttles and Russian Soyuzes, he said.
"Now that the shuttles have retired, only the Soyuzes are available, which can return up to 50 kilos of cargo to the Earth, which is too little," he said.
The commercial spacecraft Dragon capable of returning up to 3 tonnes of cargo back to the Earth could possibly start flying to the ISS at the end of the year, the source said. "Cargo-returning versions of the European ATV and Japanese HTV spacecraft are also being developed, but they will not appear very soon," the source said.
The new Russian cargo-returning spacecraft will be able to remain in orbit for up to one year, the source said. "Cargo will be loaded into it in standard bags to be placed in standard compartments," he said.
The new-generation cargo spacecraft is being developed by the Energia space rocket corporation based outside Moscow.
