No more American manned spaceflights

[RN7]

With the decommissioning of the Space Shuttle this year American astronauts will have to go into space on Russian rockets at a price of about $40 million. I like Obama but this is not really good for America’s space programme or international image and national prestige. The cancellation of the Orion program was not a good idea and the Shuttles could realistically fly for a few more years. For the first time America Astronauts will become Cosmonauts or god forbid even Taikonauts.

Current Manned Spacecraft
Chinese Shenzou Spacecraft
Launched from Chinese Long March 5 rocket
Russian Soyuz-TMA Spacecraft
Launched from Russian Proton rocket
Soviet/Russian Buran Shuttles
Payload of 35,000-50,000 kg LEO/7,500-11,500 kg GEO
• OK-1K1-Buran (Used for unmanned flights only, destroyed in hanger collapse in 2002)
• OK-1K2-Ptichka (Never used but 97% complete, on display at Baikonur in Kazakhstan)
• OK-2K1-Baikal (Only 30% complete, currently on a barge in the Moskva River)
US Space Shuttles
Payload of 24,400 kg LEO
• Atlantis (Due for decommissioning in 2011, will be displayed at Kennedy Space Center)
• Challenger (Lost in 1986)
• Columbia (Lost in 2003)
• Discovery (Decommissioned in 2011, will be on display at Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia)
• Endeavour (Decommissioned in 2011, will be displayed at California Science Center)
• Enterprise (Never used for orbital flight, on display at Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, will be moved to the USS Intrepid in New York)

Current and potential launchers
Chinese Long March 5
Payload of 25,000 kg LEO/14,000 kg GEO. Operational
ESA Arian 5
Payload of 21,000 kg LEO/10,050 kg GEO. Operational
Russian Angara 5
Payload of 24,500 kg LEO. Planned for unmanned launches
Russian Angara 7
Payload of 41,000 kg LEO. Planned for unmanned launches
Russian Proton
Payload of 21,600 kg LEO/6,360 kg GEO. Operational
Russian Rus-M
Payload of 35,500-54,000 kg LEO/7,500-11,500 kg GEO. Planned to replace Proton rocket for manned launches
US Atlas V
Payload of 20,050 kg LEO. Operational
US Atlas V HLV
Payload of 29,420 kg LEO/13,000 kg GEO. Under development, could be used for manned flights
US Delta IV Heavy
Payload of 22,950 LEO/12,980 GEO. Operational, used for military launches
US Falcon Heavy
Payload of 53,000 kg LEO/16,000 kg GEO. Under development
US Space Launch System
Derived from parts of Ares I and cancelled Ares V rockets and Shuttle. Payload 70,000 kg LEO. Under development

As a side note the US also has the unmanned vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing Boeing X-37 spaceplane, operated by the USAF for reusable orbital spaceflight missions. The Chinese claim it can be used as a spy satellite or to deliver weapons into space.

There have also been rumors about an operational top secret US military orbital spaceplane for the past decade known as Blackstar. Such a military spaceplane could be used to place small satellites in orbit, launch nuclear weapons from orbit, and serve as a platform for orbit-to-ground hypervelocity weapons. For such an expensive program to exist the cost would have to borne by the US military’s black budget and owned and operated by major aerospace corporations. If Blackstar has become fully operational, it might explain the US Government cancelations of the SR-71 and the USAF satellite-launch programs. If it exists it has been one of the best kept military secrets ever and highly controversial. The British government has also released an extensive report on unexplained aerial phenomena in British airspace, which acknowledged that some unexplained sightings can be attributed to covert aircraft, listing three American programs it is aware of. The first is the SR-71, the other two have had their names withheld and photographs have been altered.

Annual Budget in US $ million
17,600. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
05,650. European Space Agency
03,800. Russian Federal Space Agency
02,460. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
01,470. Indian Space Research Organisation
01,300. China National Space Administration