MOSCOW. May 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The launch of the Dragon private spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) will reduce the burden on Rocket and Space Corporation Energia producing Progress cargo spacecraft and permit it to concentrate its efforts on the development of a new Russian spaceship, deputy head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Vitaly Davydov believes.
"If the tests of the private spacecraft are brought to the final stage in the United States, they will no longer request us to deliver their cargos to the ISS. For us that will mean certain financial losses but that may also be an advantage because the load on the production capacities of RSC Energia will decline. We will need these capacities ourselves when the development of our spaceship is completed," Davydov said.
That was his comment on the launch of the first Dragon spacecraft that is due to dock with ISS on Friday.
However, in his opinion, the launch of the first private spaceship to the ISS should not be overestimated. "Standard work is underway. NASA has been saying for a long time that it would like to transfer a significant volume of cargo transportation to commercial entities," Davydov said.
He said that outsourcing the delivery of cargos to the ISS is a rational approach demonstrated by U.S. colleagues. "We would also gladly follow this road, if Russia had an organization that would be ready to invest enormous sums [in the development of a private spaceship] that we would buy back just in 5-10 years," he said.
Davydov also felt that in the future U.S. designers may develop a modification of the spacecraft for human missions on the basis of Dragon cargo ship.
But this should not lead to haste in developing the new Russian manned spacecraft, he said, because the needs of the ISS are fully met by the existing Progress resupply vehicles and Soyuz manned vehicles.
"Nothing new should be done for the ISS. That is simply senseless. Even if the operation of the station is extended beyond 2020, we will need nothing revolutionary for guaranteeing its operation," Davydov said.
He said that the new piloted spacecraft that Energia is developing is meant for other missions than supplying the ISS.