Capt. David, can you elaborate on this picture?http://www.flickr.com/photos/9420712@N03/4538495146/in/photostream/It seems to be an unfinished Almaz, lacking parts of the aft structure, insulation, etc.
Quote from: Skylab on 05/29/2011 06:48 pmCapt. David, can you elaborate on this picture?http://www.flickr.com/photos/9420712@N03/4538495146/in/photostream/It seems to be an unfinished Almaz, lacking parts of the aft structure, insulation, etc.Nope. The 4.1 meter wide bulge at the back end indicates that its a TKS-based module. If I had to guess, I would guess that this is a photo of the Kvant-2 structural test article, under some sort of development effort in the early 1990s.You can see the structural test article for Kvant-2 in the back of the attached photo. The white object is a Rodnik water tank.
Need to get to my wife's iPhone....
Excalibur Almaz spacecraft-- the cornerstone of the company’s plans to offer week-long orbital space flights beginning as early as 2013.
You know, a thought hit me. How many Almaz capsules does Excalibur actually have? How quickly could they be made ready to launch?
Sorry for the late response, but ... Excalibur Almaz purchased four capsules. Three of these have been displayed; a flown capsule at MAKS 2009 which has been modified with faux panels, a hull with only internal stringers and support structures at the International Space University in Strasbourg, and a complete original design unflown capsule displayed at their open-house on the Isle of Man.
Here is the unfunded CCDev2 SAA that was just signed between Excalibur Almaz and NASA:http://procurement.ksc.nasa.gov/documents/EAI-SAA.pdf
When will Excalibur Almaz begin flying their spacecraft? Where will they launch?From a 2009 announcement:QuoteExcalibur Almaz spacecraft-- the cornerstone of the company’s plans to offer week-long orbital space flights beginning as early as 2013.Is 2013 still their goal?
Does anyone happen to know the serial #'s of the TKS units Excalibur has?
Quote from: Downix on 10/28/2011 04:57 amDoes anyone happen to know the serial #'s of the TKS units Excalibur has?According to Anatoly ZakAlmaz 205 was identified in export documentation by its manufacturer, NPO Machinostroenia, as 1-11F71B-0100-0. Its manufacturing ("zavodskoi") number was shown as 0205-02.Almaz 206 was identified as 1-11F71B-0100-0. Its manufacturing ("zavodskoi") number was shown as 0206-02.
Almaz-2 (Almaz-1V)The launch of the follow-on spacecraft, equipped with more advanced payloads, was planned for the mid-1990s. A new radar installed onboard the Almaz promised to provide a resolution 5-7 meters. In addition, an optical-electronic payload on the station would be capable of producing imagery with a resolution 2.5 - 4 meters. (134)