MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Launches of Progress freight ships with new rockets Soyuz-2 will begin in 2013-2014, Samara CSKB-Progress General Director Alexander Kirilin told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"The program is being drafted. We will switch to Soyuz-2 launch vehicles in the freighter program in 2013-2014," he said.
The cost of launching freighters to the International Space Station (ISS) will grow inconsiderably, he said. "The cost will increase only with that of new components, the digital control system," he said.
By then, Soyuz-2 rockets will confirm their reliability sufficient for manned projects. "The reliability is evaluated by launches. So far, this indicator is good," he said.
Soyuz-2-1A rockets will be used to launch Progress and Soyuz spaceships, Kirilin told Interfax-AVN earlier. "Soyuz-2-1B will not be used for a while because the engine of its third stage will need to prove its reliability with statistics," he said.
A program setting the number of Soyuz-2 launches with Progress spaceships necessary for the beginning of manned Soyuz launches will be drafted before the end of this year, he said.
Russia will switch to Soyuz-2 rockets in 2015-2016 and stop using Soyuz-U and Soyuz-FG rockets with outdated systems, Kirilin said.