The ''Parom'' (''ferry'' in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

) is a

space tug ''Space Tug'' is a young adult fiction, young adult science fiction novel by author Murray Leinster. It was published in 1953 in literature, 1953 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 5,000 copies. It is the second novel in the author's Joe K ...

that has been proposed by RKK Energia. The purpose of this vehicle is to replace most of the Progress' active components.

Progress spacecraft The Progress () is a Russian expendable cargo spacecraft. Originally developed for the Soviet space program and derived from the crewed Soyuz spacecraft, Progress has been instrumental in maintaining long-duration space missions by providing ...

have flown re-supply missions since 1978.

Nikolai Bryukhanov Nikolai Pavlovich Bryukhanov (party aliases Andrey and Andrey Simbirsky; literary alias N. Pavlov; December 28, 1878 – September 1, 1938) was a Russian Bolsheviks, Bolshevik, Soviet Union, Soviet statesman and political figure who served as Mi ...

, RKK Energia's deputy general designer, said in May 2005 that the Federal Space Agency had received a design for a new space system. According to him, the system's operation principle is completely different from that used by Progress. A launch vehicle first places a Parom reusable inter-orbit "tug" into a 200 km orbit. As this spacecraft will not carry any consignments, other rockets will orbit payload containers that will be docked by Parom. The tug will then deliver them to the ISS or another orbiter. "Any Russian or foreign launch vehicle can orbit such containers," Bryukhanov said. The size of the container and its shape depend on payload characteristics. "This can be an airtight instrument module or a fuel tanker," the deputy general designer continued. "Moreover, depressurized platform featuring large scientific equipment and auxiliary systems, i.e., solar batteries that cannot be stored inside the airtight module". In layout, the Parom will be built around a pressurized transfer passage with docking ports at each end: each of these two docking ports can be used to dock with the cargo container, the Kliper, the space station or any other spacecraft. It will have its own engines, along with propellant transfer lines to feed fuel from the cargo container into its own tanks or into the space station's or another spacecraft's tank. It will also have engines scaled to handle cargo modules weighing up to 30 tonnes (around 60,000 pounds), twice the mass of the largest station sections carried into orbit aboard

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

s and

Proton rocket Proton (, formal designation: UR-500) is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965. Modern versions of the launch system are still in use , making it ...

References

External links

Russian Space Web
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20131023180300/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8148275/ MSN Article on Kliper {{Cargo spacecraft Space program of Russia Hypothetical spacecraft Space tugs

See also

References

External links