Russia Plans To Build New Spaceplane For Spy Missions

Russia has announced plans to build a small, reusable spaceplane, or space shuttle that might carry out the same missions as the Boeing X-37B spaceplane operated by the United States Space Force.

The Russian effort is being led by NPO Molniya, the state-run Russian scientific and production company responsible for developing and building Buran ("Blizzard"), the Soviet Union's first and only space shuttle. Buran conducted its lone uncrewed orbital space flight on Nov. 15, 1988. It was carried into orbit by the Energia heavy-lift vehicle. Buran was destroyed in 2002 when a fire engulfed its hangar.

Molniya General Director Olga Sokolova confirmed a new spaceplane was in the works.

"In the past year, we made significant progress in developing a new civil aerospace complex," said Sokolova.  "Until then, we had some separate know-hows, but there was no clear goal. Now we have set a task, and the development of a civil reusable system with an orbital vessel is in full swing."

The new spaceplane is being designed to deploy and return space cargo to low Earth orbit. It will be launched into LEO atop a Soyuz launch vehicle.

Some Russian sources said the as yet unnamed winged spaceplane will be the same size as the Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, a reusable robotic spacecraft currently used for scientific and secret military missions by the Space Force.

On the other hand, Dmitry Rogozin, director of Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos), last year said Russia is considering developing a piloted spaceplane and not an unmanned one.