FYI,

"Soviet-Era Spaceships to Fly Commercial Space Missions"
Space.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090818/sc_space/sovieteraspaceshipstoflycommerci\
alspacemissions

: An international spaceflight company plans to launch paying
: passengers on week-long orbital trips by 2013 using vehicles based
: on Soviet-era spacecraft built for classifed military space
: stations.

: The company, Excalibur Almaz Limited based in the Isle of Man, has
: acquired several Reusable Return Vehicles (RRVs), spacecraft
: initially designed for flying cosmonauts to the former Soviet
: Union's super-secret Almaz space stations of the 1970s, the firm
: announced Tuesday at the Moscow Air Show in Russia.

: "With this announcement, the dream of private orbital space
: exploration may become a reality in the very near future," said
: veteran Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Titov, an advisor to Excalibur
: Almaz, in a statement.

: To date, wealthy space enthusiasts have been able to book trips to
: orbit by riding as paying passengers on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft
: headed for the International Space Station during crew change
: missions. Those trips, arranged by the Virginia-based firm Space
: Adventures and Russia's Federal Space Agency, currently cost more
: than $30 million.

: Excalibur Almaz did not reveal its anticipated price per trip in
: Tuesday's announcement, but did detail plans to update the RRV
: spacecraft design with modern technology to support independent
: flights to orbit.

: The spacecraft consists of two sections, the cone-shaped RRV for
: launch and re-entry, and an expendable service module designed to
: offer more room to live and work in space. The vehicles can carry
: three people - a commander and two passengers - or about
: 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of cargo and are designed to stay
: aloft for at least a week, officials said.

: "A critical feature of the RRVs is their reusability, which will
: reduce logistical, overhead and program costs for commercial access
: to space," Excalibur Almaz officials said, adding that the
: spacecraft will be designed to fit atop a variety of launch
: vehicles in order to lift off from different sites around the world.

: The company is working with the original Almaz station
: manufacturer, Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia (or NPOM), to overhaul
: its stock of launch vehicles and space stations, company officials
: said. The spacecraft will be updated to meet customer needs for
: space exploration, cargo delivery or orbital research in
: microgravity, they added.

: NPOM designed, tested and flew several Almaz space stations and RRV
: prototypes in the 1970s. The first Almaz (which means "Diamond" in
: Russian) station to reach orbit was christened Salyut 2, but failed
: in 1973. Two others, dubbed Salyuts 3 and 5, later flew with much
: success. The RRVs flew about nine test flights, with two vehicles
: reaching orbit repeatedly, Excalibur Almaz officials said.

: The effort is an international endeavor with members in Russia, the
: United States, Europe and Japan. Former NASA astronauts - such as
: veteran spaceflyers Leroy Chiao and Franklin Chang-Diaz - as well
: as veteran space officials and cosmonauts are listed among the
: company's top leadership and advisors.

: Because of that international involvement and expertise "[Excalibur
: Almaz] is in a unique position to initiate a new era of private
: orbital space exploration," said the company's founder and CEO Art
: Dula, a veteran attorney specializing in aerospace issues.

Mark Reiff