posted 08-18-2009 10:00 AM               

Please use this topic to discuss Excalibur Almaz' plan to use updated elements of the Almaz space system developed by JSC MIC NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia.

posted 08-18-2009 10:28 AM               

The previously top secret reusable reentry vehicle for the Soviet "Almaz" manned military space station will form the backbone of a major new U.S./Russian commercial venture to carry paying research crews on one week missions into Earth orbit by 2013.

The reusable reentry vehicle (RRV) venture is being announced today at MAKS, the annual Moscow Air Show at Ramenskoye air base.

The project is led by Excalibur Almaz Limited (EA), an international space exploration company that has teamed with the Almaz RRV spacecraft manufacturer and other Russian and U.S. companies. EA is led by Art Dula founder and CEO of the venture.

posted 08-18-2009 01:10 PM               

EA will offer space flights of up to one week. Each flight will accommodate two or more crewmembers and a commander, along with cargo, scientific experiments or other payloads.

The new service module will allow the spacecraft to perform flights of up to one week, without rendezvous with a space station.

posted 08-20-2009 09:07 PM               

A description the of spacecraft with graphics.

An article by Dwayne Day on Space the Review about the misnoming of Perot's Merkur.

A discussion on parent spacecraft, including the Almaz Crew Return Apparatus, on Tim Maw's blog: Sven Grahn's TKS page.

posted 08-21-2009 11:20 AM               

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Originally posted by music_space:
Is it the same?

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An article by Dwayne Day on The Space Review about the misnoming of Perot's Merkur.

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A discussion on parent spacecraft, including the Almaz Crew Return Apparatus, on Tim Maw's blog...

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It did have a hatch through its heat shield to access the module aft.

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posted 08-21-2009 11:30 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GACspaceguy:
Any word on whether this vehicle has the capability to dock to the ISS?

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posted 09-08-2009 06:59 AM               

See this initial site - hopefully more comprehensive details will follow.

Two ex-cosmonauts will be in attendance, with a display of spacesuits etc. (don't know who they are yet).

If any UK based cS'ers are interested in visiting the Isle of Man to attend this unusual opportunity, please e-mail me for travel guidance.

posted 04-27-2011 01:11 PM               

I am not an engineering specialist - my main interest is in astronauts and cosmonauts, so sorry if I did not photograph all the things people wanted to see.

Because I was there as a representative of 'Spaceflight' magazine I must give them first viewing of most of my 70+ photos, but I am happy to post a few here as a preview.

I was very surprised that we were allowed inside the most complete module and to take any photographs that we wanted.

posted 10-28-2011 09:04 PM               

EAI has acquired and will update flight-proven legacy hardware — the Almaz Reusable Reentry Vehicle (RRV) pressure vessel, its Emergency Escape System (EES), retro rocket, attitude control subsystem and parachutes.

posted 06-20-2012 02:16 AM               

Focusing on a twice-flown RRV Capsule, and featuring interviews with EA CEO Art Dula and Space Tourist Anousheh Ansari, Sky News indicated that a ticket on a Lunar Orbit Mission would cost a cool GBP £100 Million.

posted 06-20-2012 07:32 AM               

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Originally posted by Tykeanaut:
I can't see these flights happening for a long time yet, if ever?

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It was early morning when the Sky News piece was being broadcast, but I seem to recall them talking of the possibility of a Lunar Orbital Mission 3 years from now. I recall thinking "Wow, that's quite soon!".

posted 06-21-2012 10:49 AM               

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Originally posted by YankeeClipper:
It was early morning when the Sky News piece was being broadcast, but I seem to recall them talking of the possibility of a Lunar Orbital Mission 3 years from now. I recall thinking "Wow, that's quite soon!".

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posted 06-22-2012 10:10 AM               

EA are confident in their technology base and command some serious industry support. There are more than enough High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in the world capable of outlay on the ultimate adventure.

posted 06-22-2012 12:02 PM            

A very good trend in the right direction if humans are ever to get back into something beyond LEO.

posted 11-13-2014 08:50 AM               

Takafumie Horie, whose Internet portal company Livedoor made him a billionaire, sued Art Dula in Harris County Court on Monday.

..."Horie engaged Dula as his attorney, and then trusted him enough to give Dula $49,003,000.00 in trust for purposes of setting up a business to accomplish space travel," the complaint states.

Horie claims Dula reeled him in by claiming "he could set up a commercial space transportation program to carry cargo, scientific experiments, and people into low Earth orbit to the International Space Station and other space destinations."

Dula bought four space capsules and two space stations with Horie's money from NPO Mashinostroyenia, a Russian aerospace firm, Horie claims in the lawsuit.

But he says there was a major problem with the Russian equipment.

Dula "represented to plaintiff and others that the hardware could be made 'flight worthy,' and that he could refurbish, modify and update the equipment so that it would be certified for flight," the complaint states.

It continues: "The purchase contracts had to be approved by the Russian government, and unbeknownst to plaintiff ... expressly excluded the right to modify the Russian hardware, thus relegating it to display uses only! The items were only museum pieces, a secret Dula would keep until well after he acquired control of plaintiff's investment."

posted 03-11-2015 10:53 PM               

The company was unavailable to comment on where the 11m (36ft) long space station, built in the 1980s, is going.

posted 03-13-2015 09:38 AM               

Excalibur Almaz's founder and chief executive, Art Dula, told iomtoday last July that its plans had been shelved due to a four-fold increase in transportation costs.

The company said it was now working with the International Space University in Strasbourg to transform a space capsule into a reusable orbital laboratory used to research microgravity.