CSTS or ACTS (Crew Space Transportation System and Advanced Crew Transportation System respectively) is a human spaceflight system which is jointly studied by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Roskosmos Russian Space Agency (eventually in replacement of the Kliper project) and lately the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), with the objective to design a spacecraft for LEO operations such as servicing the International Space Station but also capable of exploration of the Moon and beyond. Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Confederation of Cameroon Trade Unions (CCTU/CSTS is a Trade union A human spaceflight is a Spaceflight with a human crew, and possibly passengers The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство России Federal'noe kosmicheskoe agentstvo Rossii The, or JAXA, is Japan's national Aerospace agency JAXA was formed on October 1 2003 as an Independent Administrative Institution through the A Low Earth Orbit (LEO is generally defined as an Orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2000 km This study was conceived as a basic strategic plan to keep a viable European human space program alive because NASA officials have announced that NASA's Vision for Space Exploration Orion spacecraft will be developed without participation of international partners. The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by U Orion is a Spacecraft design currently under development by the United States space agency NASA. According to press releases and ESA official Manuel Valls, JAXA has recently joined the European-Russian cooperation. The, or JAXA, is Japan's national Aerospace agency JAXA was formed on October 1 2003 as an Independent Administrative Institution through the ^[1] CSTS has completed an initial study phase, which lasted for 18 months from September 2006 to spring 2008. In May 2008 RSA and ESA together announced that they have completed the initial study and finalized a proposal. ^[2] The proposal is planned to be presented to the ESA full member state conference in late 2008. ^[3]

Background

CSTS as answer to the Orion

Promotional picture for NASA's Vision for Space Exploration

In 2004 George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration, a program that includes the United States return to the Moon by 2020 and a manned mission to Mars by 2030. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by U

For these purposes the Crew Exploration Vehicle, Orion, is currently being developed. Orion is a Spacecraft design currently under development by the United States space agency NASA. ESA officials have inquired whether they could be part of this program for exploration,^[4] however received a negative response. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's General Director stated with regard to this rejection by NASA: "I have been told by Mike Griffin and Marburger that the CEV is not for international cooperation. Jean-Jacques Dordain (b April 14, 1946) is the current Director General of the European Space Agency and has held the position since 2003 But if Europe is not involved in the next-generation transportation systems, we will stay forever a second-class partner. "^[1] In this statement Griffin speaks of a general cooperation, not a cooperation in developing the Orion, the actual vehicle to be used for Moon missions, which will be an entirely American built spacecraft.

Because the Orion will not be developed or used in cooperation with ESA, ESA faces a major obstacle for continuation of its manned spaceflight program with the end of the Space Shuttle program by 2010 and the contemplated end of the International Space Station program by 2015/2016. NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States

Cooperation with Russia

Winged Kliper mockup at the Le Bourget Air Show

Since 2004, ESA had been in talks with Roskosmos on cooperation for the development of Kliper, the Russian successor project to the Soyuz spacecraft which has been in service for nearly 40 years. The Paris Air Show ( Salon International de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace Paris-Le Bourget) is an international trade fair for the aerospace business The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство России Federal'noe kosmicheskoe agentstvo Rossii Kliper ( Клипер, English: Clipper) is a Russian-proposed next generation manned Spacecraft that was almost selected as the successor While ESA's management was enthusiastic about this cooperation, ESA member states turned down funding for a design and collaboration study in December 2005, mainly because certain member states felt that ESA would just be a minor industrial contributor to the program, while Russia would actually develop and design the Kliper spacecraft. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member

On the Russian side, the concept of Advanced Crew Transportation System, ACTS, conceived as a sort of "Euro-Soyuz", emerged during 2006, when Russian authorities realized that their proposal to replace the Soyuz with the Kliper was too ambitious in terms of funding.

After the December 2005 rejection of Kliper by ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain emphasized that a collaboration with Russia on a new spacecraft could still be decided in June 2006. Jean-Jacques Dordain (b April 14, 1946) is the current Director General of the European Space Agency and has held the position since 2003 On June 13, 2006 the press reported that the winged Kliper project has been replaced by a study to develop a capsule under the Advanced Crew Transportation System program that ESA is funding. Kliper ( Клипер, English: Clipper) is a Russian-proposed next generation manned Spacecraft that was almost selected as the successor ^[5] This rejection by ESA notwithstanding, Kliper was a Russian program that might still be funded entirely by Roskosmos - although this is unlikely if Russia and Europe really go forward with CSTS together. Kliper ( Клипер, English: Clipper) is a Russian-proposed next generation manned Spacecraft that was almost selected as the successor Reasons for going with CSTS include that it gives Europe the possibility to be a full partner in a Russian-European program, because the modular structure (see below) allows for a division of design responsibilities between the partners (for instance, Russia could be in charge of the overall design of the reentry capsule, while ESA works on the habitation module etc. )

About €15 million were pledged for the CSTS program at ESA's regular meeting on June 21 and June 22, 2006. Further funding of the study was to have been asked for at the next ESA meeting in July. ^[1] Both partners, Russia and ESA, will bear their own costs in the first 2 years of the program. "We are now entering a phase of working with the Russians where we will establish a preliminary design of the vehicle, establish all the legal framework for the operation, delineate the work share for the parties, and outline the aspects of development," said Manuel Valls, head of Policy and Plans Department in ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity, and Exploration Program. ^[1]

On July 4, 2006 Russian media reported that the head of the Russian Space Agency Anatoly Perminov had met with Jean-Jacques Dordain to discuss the CSTS proposal; however, no agreement was signed between the Russians and Europeans as a result. The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство России Federal'noe kosmicheskoe agentstvo Rossii Jean-Jacques Dordain (b April 14, 1946) is the current Director General of the European Space Agency and has held the position since 2003 ^[6]

On July 18, 2006 Anatoly Perminov, head of Roskosmos, announced that the Russian tender for the Kliper spacecraft had been cancelled. The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство России Federal'noe kosmicheskoe agentstvo Rossii Kliper ( Клипер, English: Clipper) is a Russian-proposed next generation manned Spacecraft that was almost selected as the successor ^[7] It was noted that the ACTS proposal had gained more support among ESA member states than the Kliper design.

Farnborough Air Show

Jean-Jacques Dordain announced on the Farnborough Air show on July 25, 2006 that the collaborative study together with Roskosmos on the ACTS spacecraft would begin in September 2006 and end early in 2008: So in 18 months' time we will have got a proposal to make to our ministers for the development of such a vehicle. Jean-Jacques Dordain (b April 14, 1946) is the current Director General of the European Space Agency and has held the position since 2003 The Russian Federal Space Agency ( Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство России Federal'noe kosmicheskoe agentstvo Rossii ^[8] It was confirmed that ESA's financial contribution to this study would be 15 million EUR, shared among seven ESA member states. The work areas of the study are:

• preliminary system design examining the vehicle's configuration
• detailed subsystem design including a docking mechanism
• development of co-operation mechanisms and agreements, as well as workshare decisions for a full-scale development
• manned lunar flights

Overall Design

After the initial study phase was completed in May 2008, RSA and ESA announced that the overall design chosen was a conical manned capsule with an ATV-derived service module. The CSTS spacecraft should have a total mass of 18,000kg. However, the capsule and service module combined mass may not be that much according to Manuel Valls, ESA's CSTS programme manager and head of policy for the agency's human spaceflight, microgravity and exploration directorate. ^[9]

Missions beyond LEO

To understand the CSTS mission parameters it is first important to describe what limitations CSTS will have to deal with. Manuel Valls, head of Policy and Plans Department in ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity, and Exploration Program noted on the question of available launch vehicles for the CSTS spacecraft that "although nothing at this stage is definitive, [. . . ] both the Russians and we think that it is only prudent, and most efficient and effective, to go with 2 stages and not one. The 1-stage has been done already with Saturn V and Apollo. To do that now would entail the development of quite a new launcher and that will take time and money like hell, if I may say. Going with two stages is far more effective [. . . ] because we could use – and this is our intention – existing launch vehicles or launch vehicles with minimal development. "^[1] This means that CSTS will have a tight mass budget, as only launchers with a maximum payload capacity in the class of Ariane 5, Proton or Angara will be available for a launch. Ariane 5 is a European Expendable launch The Proton rocket The Angara rocket is a planned space-launch vehicle, designed to place heavy payloads into orbit With two launches and LEO docking that means that CSTS together with an Earth Departure Stage will not be able to weigh more than about 45 to 50 tonnes in LEO (note however that this is just for the lunar spacecraft, a lunar lander is not integrated in this calculation). A Low Earth Orbit (LEO is generally defined as an Orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2000 km The Ares V Earth Departure Stage (EDS is a rocket stage which will be designed by NASA at its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville

An ESA presentation^[10] from June 13, 2006 however presents a lunar orbital mission of the CSTS spacecraft with 3 launches, of which two are propulsion modules to propel the spacecraft to a trans-lunar trajectory. Such a scenario, while more complicated than the 2-stage approach mentioned by Manuel Valls, gives more leeway in terms of the CSTS' mass budget.

EADS Astrium Space Transportation concepts for adapting the Ariane 5 ECB for lunar exploration could increase Ariane 5 LEO performance to 27 tonnes ^[11]. EADS Astrium Space Transportation was formed in June 2003 from the Space Infrastructure division of Astrium (whose core was originally ERNO) and the These performance adaptions would entail the use of a composite solid rocket casing, and upgrades to the Vulcain Mk III and Vinci (ECSB) engines.

No information presently available with regard to the CSTS outlines a clear lunar mission scenario.

Launch Sites

Both the ESA's launch site at French Guiana and the planned Russian spaceports at Vostochny are discussed to be utilized for the CSTS spacecraft. The Guiana Space Centre, or more commonly Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG is a French Spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. It has not yet been decided yet what launcher would carry the spacecraft to orbit, however Manuel Valls indicated that beside a Russian rocket, Ariane 5 could possibly also function as the carrier rocket. Ariane 5 is a European Expendable launch ^[12]

Progress in 2007 and 2008

Starting in September 2007 European and Russian industry started the joint work focused on the definition of the CSTS requirements for Low Lunar Orbit and Low Earth Orbit missions. A Low Earth Orbit (LEO is generally defined as an Orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2000 km The development and construction plan announced in May 2008 envisions the maiden flight of the CSTS vehicle by 2015 and the first manned flight by 2018. ^[13]

Competition within Europe

At about the same time as RSA and ESA announced their plans for the CSTS spacecraft, the German space agency DLR together with EADS Astrium announced their support for the ATV evolution proposal. EADS Astrium is an Aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS based in Hampshire England Design The ATV is designed to complement the Progress spacecraft, having three times its capacity This proposal envisions the development of a modified ATV with a reentry capsule that would be used to return cargo from the ISS by 2013 and in a second phase a manned vehicle based on this modified ATV by 2017. This proposal shall be presented to ESA's governing body at its meeting in November 2008. This creates an obvious conflict of interest, EADS Astrium being at the same time one of the two European prime contractors of the CSTS and one of the two promoters of the ATV evolution, the same personnel working on both projects. A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust such as a Lawyer, Insurance adjuster, a Politician, executive or director

See also

• Kliper, Energia's proposed replacement for Soyuz
• Soyuz, Soviet-era workhorse
• Orion, NASA's planned Shuttle replacement
• Shenzhou, Chinese manned spacecraft
• SpaceX Dragon, planned private US manned spacecraft

References

External links

• Russia New Russian spaceship will be able to fly to Moon - space corp
• Ariane 5 – A European Launcher for Space Exploration (ppt)
• RSC Energia: Concept Of Russian Manned Space Navigation Development
• ESA presentation on CSTS dated June 13, 2005 (pdf)
• Europe and Russia Join Forces to Study Advanced Crew Transportation System
• Russia FSA cancels manned spacecraft tender
• ESA, Russia to Collaborate on New Spacecraft Design
• ESA to finalise manned capsule contributions at July meeting
• RKK ENERGIA international cooperation plan for manned-landing on mars
• First look at the CSTS