Right on the heels of the From the Earth to the Moon Special Edition DVD release (which would make an excellent Christmas gift for this blogger, by the way), Russia has announced thier Federal Space Agency's plans for the next 10 years:

What a difference four years makes: In 2001, when Mir plunged out of orbit, it looked as if Russia's space program was going down with it, scraping by on a budget of less than $200 million a year.

Today, boosted by Russia's oil revenue, the government has committed to a 10-year plan for space exploration, funded to the tune of $1 billion a year. That's far less than the price tag for NASA's 13-year, $104 billion plan to return to the moon. But while America's space effort is struggling with safety issues and tight budgets, Russia is now seen as having the world's safest, most cost-effective human spaceflight system.

Like NASA, the Russians plan to develop a new breed of spaceship: a winged craft called the Kliper, capable of carrying a crew of six and built in partnership with the European Space Agency. Like NASA, the Russians plan to work toward lunar landings in the latter half of the next decade, leading to the establishment of permanent moon bases as steppingstones to Mars and beyond.

Unlike NASA, the Russians plan to keep selling tickets to space, seeing it as a way to boost both budgets and public perception of the space program. Their goals are ambitious here as well, with plans to sell a trip around the moon for $100 million a seat.

Space tourism would not be a good idea with NASA's current lack of a positive reputation, but it will be interesting to see how far the Russians get in this plan. I'll be watching.

Wikipedia Space Race article

Posted by Ryan S. on Thursday, September 29, 2005 at 5:59 PM | Permalink |