The ship, which is being developed by the Energia space corporation, will be able to change parts of a satellite, refuel it or help its solar panels to unfold without crew members taking a spacewalk, a source in the industry told the news agency, Interfax.
“It’s expected to be used for servicing weather satellites and earth probes,” the source said.
It will be also able to handle large chunks of space trash like pieces of defunct spacecraft as it cleans up the orbit. The junk poses an increasingly high risk to spacecraft and needs to be tackled soon to prevent possible accidents.
The vehicle, unofficially dubbed “Rus”, will have the airlock equipment necessary for spacewalks too. It will have two crew members and will be able to support them for more than two weeks.
The ship is to be launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome, which is currently being constructed in Russia’s Far East.
The first unmanned test launch of the ship is expected in 2015, while the first manned flight is scheduled for 2018.
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