Last week, Russian state corporation Roscosmos announced the names of eight new candidates for the cosmonaut training program, the lucky ones who have gone through a rigorous selection process over a year and a half. Over the next two years, a team of four military pilots and four engineers will be trained for space flight. According to the official announcement, the 2018 class of astronauts will prepare for work on the International Space Station, learn to pilot the next-generation Federation spacecraft, which is currently under development, and possibly some of them will become the first Russians to be sent to the moon. …
However, the recent history of Russian cosmonautics shows that many cosmonauts who have completed a full training course have been sitting on the ground for many years without any real chance of flight. And the fact that the Russian crews on board the ISS were reduced from three to two people, and that the first launch of the Federation with a crew on board was postponed from 2018 to at least the mid-2020s, suggests that the new cosmonauts there is every reason to worry about your future.
However, there is also a positive side: although the Federation has not yet managed to leave the drawing board in reality, the good old Soyuz does not show the slightest signs of retirement in the near future. In fact, NASA's recent plans to transfer its astronauts from Soyuz to shiny brand new ships provided by Boeing and SpaceX could actually free up several seats in Soyuz for new Russian cosmonauts. In addition, negotiations are underway between NASA and Roskosmos for the astronauts to fly on the new Dragon and Starliner spacecraft to ensure reliable operation of both the US and Russian segments of the ISS.
There are reports that the company Energia, which is building the Soyuz, is raising funds to modify this venerable vehicle for commercial tourist travel around the Moon, which is slated for completion in the early 2020s. While the two passengers on these Soyuz lunar flights are likely to be super-wealthy adventurers willing to spend $ 150 million for each ticket, they will need to be accompanied by a professional astronaut.
Meanwhile, Roskosmos has made progress in completing the reconstruction of the Russian sector of the ISS, which will again increase the Russian crew by three. After numerous delays, the launch of the Nauka space module is scheduled for November 2019, that is, much earlier than the new astronauts complete their training.
The launch of Nauka should open the door for further expansion of the Russian part of the ISS, including the delivery of the already completed Prichal module there in 2020, as well as the joining of the next generation space laboratory in 2021. Given the impending completion of NASA's ISS program, the Russian government will have to decide in the mid-2020s what to do with these entirely new station elements.
One ambitious option would be to detach the newest parts of the Russian segment and leave them flying until the mid-2030s, or even attach Russian modules to a future Chinese space station. Both schemes could provide Russian cosmonauts with ample opportunities for long-term missions in Earth orbit.
However, today, Earth is only Plan B for the Russian space program. The Kremlin's main interest is in the moon. To this end, Roscosmos is currently in talks with NASA on a possible contribution to the US-led international lunar orbit mission. If the deal goes through, it will give at least one Russian cosmonaut the opportunity to fly aboard the Orion spacecraft as early as 2026.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin recently approved the development of a new Russian super-rocket. If it can be built soon, this gigantic structure will give Moscow its own vehicle for delivering people to lunar orbit, the surface of the moon and beyond. However, in the most optimistic scenario, this large rocket will not arrive at the launch site until 2028, so new astronauts will have to wait at least eight years after completing their training in 2020 before being able to fly the new rocket. As always, Russian space crews will need a lot of patience and perseverance.