MOSCOW. April 26 (Interfax) - The Russian state space corporation Roscosmos is interested in a project to create a reusable space shuttle for returning cargo from orbit, research is underway, but there is a lack of financing, Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov said.
"These kinds of projects are being worked through in terms of research work. They are in an advanced stage of practical implementation," Borisov said, speaking at the Knowledge.First Enlightenment Marathon, when asked whether a project for a spaceship like Buran is in demand nowadays.
The main problem is a shortage of financial resources for the project, he said.
When creating a space shuttle, the problem of its thermal insulation must be solved, he said.
"Given modern materials, technology, this issue is solvable," Borisov said.
In previous decades, the greatest development of a reusable spacecraft capable of returning to space took place in the United States, where for many years the Space Shuttle program existed. Under the program, reusable spaceships similar to conventional airplanes in appearance would travel to space and then land just like ordinary aircraft do.
The program existed for 30 years before being scrapped in 2011. Totally, 135 flights were completed. Out of five space shuttles that at least once went to space, two eventually crashed. In 1986, an external fuel tank of the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded minutes after liftoff, leading to the craft's collapse. Seven crewmembers were killed in the accident. Later in 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed during reentry, also killing all seven crewmembers. It turned out that the shuttle's thermal insulation was damaged during the launch.
In the Soviet Union, there was a project similar to the U.S.' Space Shuttle program, which envisaged several shuttles, one of which, called Buran, performed one automated flight. The program was closed after the Soviet Union's collapse.
In October 2020, Roscosmos announced a tender to study the possibility of creating a reusable spaceship, according to the Russian state procurement purchases website. The orbital aircraft, comprising both spaceplane and spacecraft concepts, combines the features of both aircraft and spacecraft. These kinds of crafts can perform horizontal landing and flights in the atmosphere, using the lifting force of a glider.