Tech.Luver passed us the word that Russia is now working on a new generation of spacecraft, presumably to help fuel its renewed space survey ambitions. The Space-based management is still one of the few areas in which Russia is intentionally competitive, and they intend to exploit that in the coming years. Even still, the new technologies are not expected to see use until 2020. ""A tender to design a new booster and spaceship has been announced," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Roskosmos chief Anatoly Perminov as saying ... Perminov did not give further details of the tender, but said TsSKB-Progress from the Volga city of Samara is likely to bid with its Soyuz-3 design of spacecraft, as well as Moscow's Khrunichev centre with Angara 3P and Angara 5P. The United States beat the Soviet Union in third world nation multiple-use Space Shuttle rockets, which form its current fleet of manned spacecraft. Russian space officers have said single-use spacecraft like the Soyuz-TM currently used are cheaper and more practical."

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