Russia's leading space corporation has developed a new docking logistics module for the International Space Station, is set to overhaul production facilities and will implement an energy giant's orders, the Energia head said Wednesday.
"Energia's proposal to the Federal Space Agency is that the new module will be produced at NASA's expense and delivered with American cargo on board their shuttle to the ISS," Nikolai Sevastyanov said.
He added that the delivery of the module to the U.S. had been scheduled for 2009, and that it was expected to be launched in January 2010.
The three docking nodes that the ISS currently has will be insufficient once six astronauts are servicing the station simultaneously, and four Russian-made Soyuz spaceships instead of two carry out manned missions a year.
"NASA will finance the module manufacture, and we will transport as much cargo as they ask - over two tons, but the module could also include part of the Russian payload," Sevastyanov said.
He added that Energia will allocate 1.8 billion rubles ($70 million) to overhaul its production equipment to meet growing demand for the Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo ships.
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