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'VM-T Atlant'

This year heavy rains little bit messed up this new edition of the MAKS air show 2013, especially the flights demonstrations, but at least some historic planes were exposed for the joy of visitors. Among them the VMT-Atlant, this plane made the two flights of the Energia rocket possible. Indeed, it was the only mean to safely transport parts of the rocket (and the shuttle Buran) from Moscow to Baikonur.

Here is a reporting broadcasted on TV Roscosmos about a project of a space plane for tourists. This project is developed by the Myasichev design bureau from the VM-T Atlant plane which will be used as a launch plane for a smaller shuttle equipped with a rocket engine.

This shuttle will have three seats of which one for the pilot and will fly up to 100 km height. The project has been studied for some years now, and a full scale (not working) mock-up of the shuttle was made to be used as a demonstrator.

The Moscow’s authorities will ask that the houses will be set with new energy-efficient technologies developped by the All-Russia Research Institute of Aviation Materials, reported the journalists last 20 march during a visit of this institut by the mayor Yuri Luzhkov.

The mayor specified that one of the most important task of the city is to insure a good energy control for heating houses and to promote the use of new technologies. He also added that in 2010 the city will spend more than 8 billion rubles about scientific development which is more than the previous year.

As the institut’s director Yevgeny Koblov said, the discussion will be about the use of materials, developped for the Buran project, to increase the thermal efficiency of the houses. According to him some agreement had already been settled. Moreover, said Koblov, Moscow is considering the utilisation of carbon fibers developped by the institut for the construction of buildings.

The All-Union Research Institute of Aviation Materials was created and attached to the ministry of heavy industry of the USSR in 1932, then to the governement of the Russian Federation.

Myasishchev’s experimental machine factory plans to finish development of feasibility study for new aerospace system M-91 in March.

Said system consists of a delivery aircraft VM-T and a recoverable module, carried to near space up to 100-km heights, which spends 5 minutes under zero gravity and returns to airdrome. Space module is controlled by two pilots and can carry up to 14 passengers. Orbital journeys will be performed on a commercial basis. First commercial flight is scheduled for 2012, and Russian pilots expect up to 100 flights per year.

The VM-T Atlant was designed to carry pieces of the Energia launch vehicule and the Buran space shuttle from their factories (near Moscow) to the cosmodrome of Baikonur in the mid 80s.