Коммерческий орбитальный корабль НПОмаш / Excalibur Almaz

[VK]

В общем, основное в этой схеме - собрать вклады инвесторов. А за эти годы или ишак, или эмир, или сам Насреддин...

[Grumant]

Тут скорее Бендером пахнет. Плакат  ("Сеятель") "Луна на горизонте"

[Apollo13]

Тут скорее Бендером пахнет. Плакат  ("Сеятель") "Луна на горизонте"

Еще их пресс релизы напоминают выступление перед васюкинскими любителями космонавтики.

[ronatu]

New passenger service to the Moon for $100M

Excalibur Almaz has announced that it is selling tickets to lunar orbit. The price is $100 million. Your golden ticket will entitle you to a complete astronaut experience.

You'll begin with astronaut training: not just a course on how to make it to the escape capsule in the event of an emergency, but also how to pilot the spacecraft back to Earth in the event that something goes wrong with its onboard navigation. The price includes a ticket to a flight to space aboard the XCOR Lynx suborbital spaceplane, so you'll have already been to space and experienced weightlessness before you board the Excalibur reusable capsule. On the big day you'll ride the Soyuz rocket with your two fellow passengers up from Baikonur to one of the company's two 90-cubic-meter space stations. Once you're aboard the station with your two fellow passengers, an electric thruster will slowly spiral the three of you up to an elliptical orbit around the Moon. After several days you'll spiral back the way you came, re-enter Earth orbit, board a small reusable capsule and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, leaving the station behind you. Home again, home again, time to hire that ghost writer and update your Facebook page with a few new pictures.

Excalibur Almaz has based its business around a fleet of Soviet spacecraft purchased by its somewhat-legendary founder, Art Dula of Houston, Texas, who has been involved with several other successful space companies. The age of the thirty-year-old spacecraft means very little; most current Russian spacecraft date from the Soviet-era and they are considered to be among the safest and most reliable spacecraft ever built. Space launches are very public, and Mr. Dula's fleet was built during a time when any public failure meant dire consequences not only for the cosmonaut but also for anyone connected with the failure (people who make mistakes still die, but from "stress"). Because of their stout engineering, old Soviet launchers and spacecraft have consistently excellent safety records.

Several years ago Dula procured two Almaz space stations, designed for Soviet military reconnaissance, and four very stout reusable return capsules along with their escape systems. The space stations are closely related to the Zvezda and Zarya modules on the Russian side of the International Space Station, and although the reusable return vehicles have never been flown manned, they have been extensively tested. For the last seven years the new company has been quietly working on the equally expensive tasks of filling out paperwork and engineering.

A myriad of licenses were necessary to bring the equipment out of Russia and on to the Isle of Man, an aerospace hotbed where Excalibur Almaz is based. Eventually the collection of stations and reusable return vehicles arrived at their new home, and EA began their refurbishment with modern off-the-shelf parts from the various space industry catalogs. The spacecraft received new solar arrays, environmental controls, flight controls, and communications equipment. The kitchen, crew quarters, exercise rooms, storage racks, laboratory, and telescope are all being brought up to date. On the outside, the craft are receiving electric and hypergolic thrusters. The Excalibur Almaz paint scheme is a glossy white, devoid of Soviet insignia.

The Soviet spacecraft by themselves were not enough to build a complete system. Excalibur Almaz has also contracted with the manufacturers in Russia and the Ukraine for more of the stock pieces. They asked aerospace giant EADS Astrium in Europe to do preliminary designs for an intermediate propulsion stage with new passenger and cargo modules based on the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). They struck a Space Act Agreement with NASA in order to learn how to meet US space agency standards for carrying crew to the space station. For marketing studies, EA went to Futron Corporation, a company which specializes in aerospace markets and knows the space tourism industry well.

Futron told them that launch prices were currently too high for profitable operations in Low Earth Orbit. "I stress that we were quite surprised to find that we can't operate at a profit in Low Earth Orbit right now," said Mr. Dula at the ISDC 2012 conference last month. "That takes government subsidy. There aren't enough customers in LEO. There are more customers that are interested in going beyond LEO for a purely commercial system."

"Beyond LEO" meant the Moon, and as it happens mathematics has made getting to the Moon a little easier than it was during the Apollo era. For low-energy lunar transfer orbits EA went to Dr. Ed Belbruno, a mathematician who specializes in celestial mechanics, and to Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena. Orbits were found that would allow the station to use electric propulsion to slowly make its way into lunar orbits. EA contracted with US-based United Launch Alliance (ULA) for phasing studies, the adjustment of a spacecraft's time-position along its orbit. Plans eventually came together for three different lunar missions. One of them is a lunar cycler orbit based on work done by former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, an old friend of Mr. Dula's.

The first mission begins in low Earth orbit and involves an elliptical lunar flyby, good for tourists who want to see the Moon up close through a window instead of a telescope. The second requires the station to travel up to a circular lunar orbit on a slow low-energy trajectory, where it waits for a crew on a high-energy spacecraft such as an Orion space capsule riding on a ULA Centaur upper stage. The crew vehicle docks with the station and can stay for a month or two. It then does a high-energy return and re-enters the atmosphere.

The third mission is the lunar cycler orbit, wherein the space station flies to the Moon on a low-energy trajectory and gets a gravity boost out of the plane of the ecliptic, up and over the Earth instead of around it. The Moon rotates around and catches the spacecraft two weeks later on the other side, catching the spacecraft and returning it to where a new crew or supply ship can dock with it. The two-week cycles could last quite a long time before the station would need to be refueled.

For now, the only man-rated vehicle capable of launching the small "taxi" vehicles, with their launch escape systems and reusable return capsules, are Soyuz rockets. The Chinese Long March is also the right size and man-rated, but U.S. technology export rules forbid it. In the near future other vehicles could be or will be man-rated, so there will be more choices. The stations themselves will probably go up aboard Russian Proton rockets, for which they were designed, but they could also go up on many other launchers. Excalibur Almaz also has a six-person vehicle, essentially a scaled up version of their 3-person capsule, approaching its Critical Design Review.

A reusable reentry vehicle was displayed at the Royal Aeronautical Society's Third European Space Tourism Conference in London, where Mr. Dula made another presentation yesterday. It has now been shipped back to the company headquarters on the Isle of Man, where it will wait for the first three customers. For now, you can see and read more at the Excalibur Almaz website.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/06/new-passenger-service-to-the-moon-for-100m/

[LG]

Интересно, сколько времени могли бы проработать "Мир" или МКС с экипажем, но без снабжения? При условии, что орбиту корректировать не надо?

Мир с экипажем 1 чел - полгода если затарить чела последним Прогрессом.

Я имею в виду, без ремонта?

Без ремонта - тот же год. Имеется в виду что все грузы необходимые для функционирования Мира дальше уже не доставляются. Последними Прогрессами доставляются грузы чтоб Мир был управляем до момента затопления, последним дополнительным Прогрессом Мир топится.
Дополнительнолму Прогрессу помогает Прогресс запущенный уже в рамках эксплуатации Мира - вместо подъема орбиты обеспечивает ориентацию при затоплении.

[LG]

Что интересно - МКС также топится одним дополнительным Прогрессом на СУ СМ.

[Lamort]

Относительно низкая скорость полета предполагает, что путешествие на Луну и обратно займет до восьми месяцев. Общее расстояние маршрута - около 800 тыс километров. Планируется, что на космической станции, обитаемый объем которой составляет 90 кубических метров, участники экспедиции смогут проводить научные эксперименты, используя доставленное на капсуле
оборудование.  (С)
Простите, а они на ионниках лететь собрались? Что за бред.  

Да это ладно бы, - интересно как они решили проблему облучения экипажа в это время?
 Свинцовые штаны предусмотрели для каждого?

[LG]

Металлолом

[ronatu]

MANX-registered space expedition firm Excalibur Almaz says is ready to sell tickets to the Moon – yours for a stellar price of just

[SFN]

Между британским и американским флагом нарисован т.н. гражданский флаг острова Мэн
The company has bought four re-entry capsules and two space stations from Russian firm NPO Mashinostroyenia.

[dee34rt]

Почистили тему?

[instml]

NASA and Excalibur Almaz Inc. Complete Space Act Agreement

Excalibur Almaz Inc. (EAI) has successfully completed its Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Through CCDev2, NASA is spurring innovation and development of safe, reliable and cost-effective spacecraft and launch vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

EAI, based in Houston, began exchanging technical information with NASA about its human spacecraft concept for low Earth orbit crew transportation in October 2011 under an unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA). The company and NASA reviewed the design of the spacecraft, its systems requirements and compatibility with launch vehicle alternatives. Additional milestones included presentations on how the company plans to test and integrate its spacecraft in advance of a crewed launch. All of the EAI SAA milestones were completed by June 19.

"During this unfunded Space Act Agreement with EAI, NASA learned valuable information about how the company plans to upgrade the existing capsule with modern flight capabilities," CCP Manager Ed Mango said. "We commend the EAI team for completing all of their established milestones during this partnership."

EAI plans to upgrade human space capsules built and tested decades earlier with new internal systems and a service module. The spacecraft can accommodate three crew members and accompanying cargo during trips to low Earth orbit. It will consist of a reusable reentry capsule, launch abort system and expendable service module. EAI plans to outfit the spacecraft with the ability to land on the ground, rather than in the ocean.

"The interchange of technical information between the EAI team and the NASA Commercial Crew Program during the past year has been a very positive and important step toward the completion of our commercial transportation system," said Buckner Hightower, EAI chief executive officer. "NASA's feedback related to clarification of commercial crew transportation requirements was of significant assistance to support our efforts to provide safe, reliable and cost effective space transportation for both commercial and government customers."

All of NASA's industry partners continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities.

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/eai_spaceact_complete.html

[frigate]

EAI plans to outfit the spacecraft with the ability to land on the ground, rather than in the ocean.

Довольно забавное утверждение, учитывая факт, что ВА ТКС садился на Землю.
Видимо "выбивают фонды" на разработку того что уже было сделано.  :roll:

[Salo]

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/09/15/investor-sues-art-dula-excalibur-almaz-for-alleged-fraud/
Investor Sues Art Dula, Excalibur Almaz for Alleged Fraud
Posted by Doug Messier
on September 15, 2012, at 10:46 am

Via Clark Lindsey at NewSpace Watch: A Texas woman has sued Art Dula and Excalibur Almaz over for allegedly defrauding her and her late husband in an asteroid mining scheme:

 Donna Beck sued Houston patent attorney Arthur Dula, his companies Excalibur Exploration Limited, Excalibur Limited, Excalibur Almaz Limited and Excalibur Almaz USA Inc., and Excalibur directors J. Buckner Hightower and Christopher Stott, in Harris County Court.

 "Dula defrauded Beck by inducing her and her husband (since deceased) to advance $300,000, and later purchase an investment in Excalibur Exploration Limited, one of the Excalibur entities, with the fundamental false representation that the company had the technical expertise and associations to develop a business to fly the first commercial prospecting space flight to an asteroid," the complaint states.

 "Dula bolstered his lies by representing that his other companies had the spacecraft to accomplish the job, as well as associations with other necessary contractors.

 "In fact, the entire operation was a sham and never accomplished anything of substance.

 "Dula spent Beck's money even before Excalibur Exploration Limited was formed to pay for a project that Dula and his associates had previously earmarked as an expense for another related company, until they got lucky and got Beck's check and switched the obligation to her."

This is the first I have heard that Excalibur Almaz was working on asteroid mining. The company's plans for its Soviet-era space station and capsule hardware have changed several times over the years. Proposals have included an orbiting space station/tourism destination, transportation for NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, and (most recently) a plan for servicing cis-lunar space.

Interestingly, the suit claims that Dula said he had already raised $50 million for the venture. It also alleges that Excalibur Mines had the "right of first refusal" for using the VASMIR engine being developed by Ad Astra Rocket Company for asteroid mining.

Buckner Hightower was appointed CEO of Excalibur Almaz USA in May 2011. Defendant Chris Stott is the husband of American astronaut Nicole Stott.

Read the full story.

[David Lee Rickman]

This seems to be an interesting turn of events:

Whether or not Excalibur Almaz is guilty of any fraud, I can't say this news surprised me in the least. Excalibur Almaz has been very (If not overly) secretive from the start. They would announce something exciting, go into "stealth" mode for awhile, after which they would come out and announce something new and even more exciting than the last.

During their latest "Media Event" I did learn via an interview a BBC reporter had with Art Dula, that when he purchased the Almaz equipment from NPO Mashinostroyenia, they assumed he would be reselling the hardware to various museums. I don't know how much Excalibur Almaz paid for this equipment nor how NPO Mash reacted to the news that EA would be using this equipment as the backbone for a commercial space venture, but I do know that it was necessary for Excalibur Almaz to hire a company named CREAFORM to reverse engineer the Almaz Capsule in order to get the measurements of the capsules' interior.  This seems to indicate that NPO Mash did not provide documentation to EA regarding basic capsule information.

Ultimately, I am grateful that Excalibur Almaz took on this challenge. It was through third party interaction that I was able to get some Almaz Capsule information that I would not have gotten otherwise. Although it was always through a party working with Excalibur Almaz, but never the company itself, that I obtained this information.

It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit goes, and whether or not it will have any impact on Excalibur Almaz plans.

Best Regards,

David L. Rickman
549 Caribou Road
Asheville, NC  28803
USA

[David Lee Rickman]

Hello NK Forum members!

I've been rather busy the past 24 hours, contacting parties involved with Excalibur Almaz and Excalibur Exploration.  As a result, I have received additional information regarding the lawsuit, current standing, and future plans of Excalibur Exploration, as well as Excalibur Almaz and their current relationship with NPO Mashinostroyenia.

My premature assumptions about the possible current relationship of Excalibur Almaz and NPO Mashinostroyenia was both incorrect, and presumptuous. As it turns out, the business relationship between both companies has been, and is still mutually beneficial, with NPO Mash providing Excalibur Almaz a great deal of data and information on the Almaz Reusable Return Vehicles and Almaz Orbital Stations purchased by Excalibur Almaz. In fact, what was labelled as "Reverse Engineering" by Creaform turned out to be an exercise in conjunction with the International Space University to determine how much could be independently verified using laser measurements. These measurements were additionally used to make an accurate training replica of the Almaz capsule. This training capsule focuses on the capsules internal arrangement, and is currently housed in Houston, Texas.

The reality is that, due to the military origins of the Almaz program and its' components, the transfer of most of the technical information about the Almaz equipment and design are restricted by the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (otherwise known to most of us as ITAR). While the restrictions placed on corporations by ITAR may seem to be something that would have been substantially lifted with the end of the Cold War, since 1999 the State Department has published dozens of separate violations of ITAR by many U.S. corporations including Boeing, ITT, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, and Northrop Grumman.

Excalibur Almaz's Public Relations Director, Rob Lazaro, informed me that, regarding Almaz images and related information "... we have a lot more flexibility in the European Union than here in the states due to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) regulations." He further explained that Excalibur Almaz is "... trying to get as much of this information out as the regulations allow but unfortunately (we) have additional challenges that the other commercial space companies that are building hardware from scratch do not have because of EA's unique program history." (emphasis added) Through direct communication with Art Dula, I was also made privy to some additional personal information, which not only also greatly explain apparent lapses in the progress of Excalibur Almaz, but also illustrate how well this company is able to go into, and maintain their "stealth mode".

The recent lawsuit was also incorrectly reported to be against Excalibur Almaz. It is actually brought against Excalibur Exploration (EE), and has nothing to do with Excalibur Almaz. The lawsuit was brought by Donna Beck, a long term investor in Excalibur Exploration. Art Dula explained to me that the facts alleged in the complaint are not accurate, and that representatives for Excalibur Exploration will be able to prove this in court.

According to Art Dula, "Excalibur Exploration is an active company in good standing which has purchased two excellent phase A asteroid mission studies (one from MDA of Canada, one from Ad Astra Rocket Company of Houston)." He also stated that Excalibur Exploration, "... also bought the right of first refusal to use the VASIMR rocket engine for space resource recovery."

Chris Holland - the In-house lawyer and Council for Excalibur Almaz had this to say concerning the lawsuit, "Ms. Beck and her husband were both involved in the investment discussions.  Mr. Beck's passing is sad, but Ms. Beck led the effort for the two of them and she is a savvy person and an informed investor.  She represented to EE in writing that she had opportunity to have her own professional and independent analysis of the investment prior to her commitment.  She also represented in writing that she understood this will be a long term investment.  She was a Founder and sat on the Board.  EE is an ongoing concern and data thus far produced will benefit all who share in the vision to exploit the vital resources above our heads."

Art Dula added this sentiment, "Ms. Beck made a long term investment. I deeply regret that she is so unhappy that she brought this lawsuit."

My personal take on the situation is that this IS a simple frivolous lawsuit, which ultimately will not affect the future of Excalibur Exploration, or Excalibur Almaz.

Best Regards,

David L. Rickman
549 Caribou Road
Asheville, NC  28803
USA

[David Lee Rickman]

The latest Press Release from Excalibur Almaz

Dennis Diemoz joins Excalibur Almaz USA as new President

HOUSTON, October 1, 2012 – Excalibur Almaz, USA (www.theAlmazUSA.com) is pleased to
announce that Dennis K. Diemoz has been named President of Excalibur Almaz, USA (EA
USA). He has also been appointed to the EA Board of Directors. Mr. Diemoz provides a rich
history of aerospace industry executive management.

Most recently he was Vice President & General Counsel of United Space Alliance, LLC (USA)
from its inception until his retirement in January of 2009, at which time he was responsible for
the audit, export control, legal, security & technology protection functions. USA was NASA's
prime contractor of its Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC) which operated the Shuttle and
International Space Station for NASA beginning in June, 1996.

"While with USA, my team and I worked closely with Excalibur Almaz in their process of
acquiring the Russian space assets that EA now has in its Isle of Man facilities," stated Mr.
Diemoz. "I decided to come out of retirement after watching the Moon landing film featured in
connection with the memorial services for Neil Armstrong and the renewed interest in the
exploration of the Moon. Those memories and the Orlando Sentinel's exclusive article quoting
current NASA Administrator, Gen. Charlie Bolden, that 'NASA wants to send astronauts beyond
the moon' (September 22, 2012) convinced me to come out of retirement and assist in EA's
efforts and abilities to achieve that stated desire."

"Knowing that EA currently has access to proven space hardware that can achieve that goal is
an exciting adventure! The space hardware, and the current focus of relying on commercial
space companies to achieve such goals and objectives, presented an opportunity I could not
avoid," added Diemoz. "Putting individuals, and or countries, in space and on the Moon at a
reasonable cost is EA's business. EA will continue to work closely with NASA, the State of
Florida and other interested parties to bring commercial Human Space Flight back as a National
objective."

Previously, Diemoz was with Lockheed Martin Space Operations (LMSOC) from 1982 until 1996
when, as LMSOC's Company Counsel, he joined USA. While he was with LMSOC, he
negotiated the NASA Shuttle Processing Contract (SPC) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Florida. He has been associated with the NASA's Manned Space Flight programs since 1982,
and has worked closely with NASA astronauts. The addition of Dennis Diemoz to lead the EA
USA team will provide seasoned, proven top management and expedite accomplishment of the
Company's goals.

For more information visit www.theAlmazUSA.com or contact Robert Lazaro, Excalibur Almaz
Public Relations Director at rlazaro@excaliburalmaz.com.
About Excalibur Almaz, USA

Based in Houston, Excalibur Almaz, USA is engaged in the development of commercial space
transportation for crew, cargo, science and other space-related activities. Its capabilities include
near-term development of operations in Low Earth Orbit as well as deep space expeditions. EA
USA also provides contract management services to Excalibur Almaz Limited, an Isle of Man
company engaged in international activities to rapidly develop commercial space capabilities
utilizing Russian and European heritage hardware and technology coupled with the best modern
systems and technologies.



Congratulations to Dennis Diemoz and Excalibur Almaz USA!!!

David L. Rickman
549 Caribou Road
Asheville, NC  28803
USA

[В И]

*Залюбили* вы уже своим инязом. :evil:

3.3. Рабочий язык форума – русский, алфавит – кириллица. Использование транслитерации запрещено; при отсутствии русской раскладки используйте виртуальную клавиатуру. В справочных и иллюстрационных целях допускается воспроизведение текста на иностранном языке с необходимым комментарием на русском языке.
Участники, не владеющие русским языком, могут оставлять сообщения на других языках, но должны учитывать, что могут не получить понятного им ответа.

[dee34rt]

*Залюбили* вы уже своим инязом. :evil:

3.3. Рабочий язык форума – русский, алфавит – кириллица. Использование транслитерации запрещено; при отсутствии русской раскладки используйте виртуальную клавиатуру. В справочных и иллюстрационных целях допускается воспроизведение текста на иностранном языке с необходимым комментарием на русском языке.
Участники, не владеющие русским языком, могут оставлять сообщения на других языках, но должны учитывать, что могут не получить понятного им ответа.

Для Capt. David простительно. Он не русский и русским языком не владеет. И это не должно становится причиной невозможности сюда писать. :!:

[Lanista]

*Залюбили* вы уже своим инязом. :evil:

3.3. Рабочий язык форума – русский, алфавит – кириллица. Использование транслитерации запрещено; при отсутствии русской раскладки используйте виртуальную клавиатуру. В справочных и иллюстрационных целях допускается воспроизведение текста на иностранном языке с необходимым комментарием на русском языке.
Участники, не владеющие русским языком, могут оставлять сообщения на других языках, но должны учитывать, что могут не получить понятного им ответа.

Ему лучше писать на родном, чем переводить нам автоматом.