Russian cosmonaut will fly to the moon approximately in 2024 for mounting the airlock

International Moon Orbital Station (left). Render: NASA

In mid-April, an international technical standards group met in Houston, where they discussed the specifications of the International Lunar Orbital Station (Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, LOP-G) - an outpost of humanity near the Moon. Previously, the station was known as the Deep Space Gateway.

Russia is also involved in construction. Different elements of the station will make different countries participating in the project. Russia was instructed to make a lock module “by American standards”, reports RIA “Novosti” with reference to an anonymous source in the rocket and space industry.

In total, four manned missions are planned for the station. One Russian cosmonaut must accompany the module during its transportation to the Moon, the source said. Apparently, the installation of the airlock chamber will also entrust this Russian specialist. The flight is scheduled for approximately 2024.
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In addition, the possibility of sending a second Russian to the station as part of another crew is being discussed. However, these negotiations are still in the initial stage.

“As part of the negotiations, sketches of future manned missions to the near-moon station were made. Among other things, the possibility of the flight of a Russian cosmonaut as part of the crew of the Orion spacecraft, which tows the Russian airlock to the Moon, is being discussed, ”the agency’s source said. Information about the negotiations was confirmed by another source in the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, which will become the manufacturer of the module.

The dates of the flight of the second Russian cosmonaut, as well as the specific dates of all four manned missions on LOP-G, have not yet been named. According to preliminary plans, the construction of the station will begin in 2022, and the Russian compartment will be attached to it in 2024.

The first manned flights on the LOP-G will take place on the American Orion ships, which will be launched by Space Launch System (SLS) super-heavy rockets. Crews will consist of up to four people. Roscosmos expects that in future astronauts will be able to fly to the international station on the Russian Federation ships (lunar version). But to create this ship is still to be in the future, and the American Orion is ready for flight now. Its first test flight took place on December 5, 2014, and the first manned flight will take place, probably in 2023 or 2024. Although NASA representatives hope that they will be able to complete all the preparatory work by 2021, but the chances of a Orion manned flight in 2021 are estimated at only 40% .


Orion spacecraft. Render: NASA

To launch the Russian module, the Angara-A5 heavy-class rocket and the American SLS are considered. In the second case, he will go to the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway in conjunction with the Orion ship.

The RSC Energia production gateway is intended for crew exits to the station surface for conducting scientific experiments and equipment installation. It consists of two "rooms": spherical with a hatch for spacewalks and docking nodes, as well as cylindrical - to accommodate scientific equipment. On top of the module, it is planned to install a Canadian arm-manipulator to assist astronauts in moving cargo from the airlock to the station surface.

The international lunar orbital station will be a preparatory stage for the Martian mission. Under this program, near-moon space will be mastered, where astronauts must build and test systems before traveling into deep space, including to Mars. Here they will check the robotic missions with the descent to the lunar surface.

NASA announced plans to build a lunar orbital station in March 2017, and signed an agreement of intent with Roscosmos in September 2017. The negotiations of the international technical standards group continue. One of the points of disagreement - what suits to use for a spacewalk, Russian or American . Russia offers the latest generation Orlan spacesuits, which are now used on the ISS, and Americans are developing the MACES rescue spacesuit based on the ACES spacesuit for space shuttle crews.