Kliper

Kliper, also written Clipper, was a Russian proposal for a reusable crewed spaceplane to replace the Soyuz, first announced at a Moscow news conference on 17 February 2004. RKK Energia had begun the design work in 2000 at the request of the Russian space agency. The 2004 version was a lifting body of about 14.5 tonnes that could ferry crews and cargo to space stations, serve as a station lifeboat or fly alone to carry tourists, with two pilots and up to four passengers, launched on a new booster called Onega. It had a jettisonable orbital module derived from the Soyuz for docking and an expendable service module. By August 2005 it had been redrawn as a stubby delta-winged glider with better cross-range, and the Russians talked with the Europeans about co-development, with Kourou as the hoped-for launch site. The government could not provide the 10 billion rubles needed, and by 2008 a simpler ballistic design was preferred. Kliper never flew and remained a study.