Updated 12:34 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos will receive technical suggestions in creating the country’s super-heavy carrier rockets by the end of 2014, an agency department head said Thursday.
“We expect to receive designs from leading enterprises by the end of the year,” said Andrei Mazurin, who heads one of the space agency’s departments, told RIA Novosti.
Roscosmos is looking into developing a super-heavy carrier rocket to be used in Russia's lunar program, able to launch up to 80 tons of cargo into space, Mazurin said. In the long term, a rocket capable of carrying 130 to 160 tons could be created, he said.
In September, Roscosmos reported that it was planning to launch a full-scale moon exploration program. The program will be carried out largely within the Russian Federal Space Program for 2016-2025. Russia is also looking at developing space exploration plans for 2050 and beyond.
