Jul 19 1979
From The Space Library
The Library of Congress Science and Technology Division's NASA support project issued two news alerts, the first on a Soviet "space mini shuttle" like the French project Hermes, reportedly designed to carry five or six crew members (or the equivalent in cargo) to visit and replenish orbital stations. The vehicle would use a normal expendable Soviet rocket for launch and make a gliding reentry into Earth's atmosphere. The translation pointed out that the Soviet concept differed from the United States reusable Shuttle, more closely resembling the CNES manned hypersonic glider.
The second notice covered government and CNES decisions affecting the scope and timing of Hermes. The French Council of Ministers on March 7 had approved a Hermes launch capability of seven tons to carry a materials processing program called Minos, using a space transport vehicle like a mini shuttle to bring back products made in the space factories. A Hermes would be launched by the last of five versions of the Ariane vehicle; development of the Hermes and the Ariane 5 would take from seven to eight years. (LC/S&T Alerts 5498, 5499)
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