Charles Simonyi is the fifth space tourist to hitch a ride on Russia’s space taxi at a cool US $25 million, but despite the US ordering Soyuz capsules, there are fears Russia could lose the space race.

This is despite years of solid service, and even orders from the US for some of Russia’s Soyuz rockets so the Americans can ease pressure on the ageing Space Shuttle fleet which is due to be shut down in the next few years following a series of mishaps that have resulted in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia upon re-entry in 2003.

The Soyuz and Progress space capsules have been instrumental in getting crews up to the International Space Station, especially while NASA was unable to launch Space Shuttles, and has been instrumental in getting a total of five space tourists into orbit, as well as earning Russia at least US $100 million in fees.

Still, with plenty of US and Chinese interest in getting to the Moon and even Mars in the next few years, along with Japanese and even Indian activity in the space sector, the Russian space program cannot rely on the Soyuz rockets forever. Next-generation models must be built in anticipation of competition from the US and Chinese space programs, and the claims are that the Russian government is taking its time in allocating enough funds to ensure the successors to Soyuz will be built.

Indeed, despite US orders for Soyuz capsules, the US is planning its own Orion capsule which is due for deployment in 2015.

That said, Russia’s RKK Energiya, which builds both the Soyuz and Progress spacescraft, wants to build a new model called the Clipper at a cost of around US $1.5 billion, but only a plywood and plastic model exists at this time.

Energiya’s management is trying to get the Russian government to commit to funding, especially as it is flush with funds from the energy sector, with the danger that further delays will see Russia lose the space race to the US, China, Japan or even India.

It’s not something we can see Russian President Vladimir Putin wanting to happen on his watch, but for now, just like Energiya, we’ll just have to wait and see whether Russia’s space taxi can leave the 20th century behind, and firmly enter the 21st with a new model that re-ignites the Russian race into space, and the global space program.
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