Kliper
Kliper spacecraft rendering | |
| Manufacturer | S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Operator | Roscosmos |
| Applications | Crewed spaceplane |
| Specifications | |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Design life | 2004 to 2006 |
| Production | |
| Status | Cancelled (2006) |
| Launched | 0 |
Kliper (Клипер, English: Clipper) was an early-2000s proposed partially-reusable (excluding orbital section and thermal protection shield) crewed spacecraft concept by RSC Energia. Due to a lack of funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Space Agency (RSA), the project was indefinitely postponed in 2006.
Designed primarily to replace the Soyuz spacecraft, Kliper was proposed in two versions: as a pure lifting body design and as spaceplane with small wings. In either case, the spacecraft would have been able to glide into the atmosphere at an angle that produces much less stress on the human occupants than the current Soyuz spacecraft. Kliper was intended to be designed to be able to carry up to six people and to perform ferry services between Earth and the International Space Station.