Russia to launch new space capsule for manned missions. It will replace the capsule of the famous Soyuz missions

Russia's next-generation space capsule for manned missions would begin its flights in 2028, a senior official in the space field said on Friday, quoted by the Xinhua agency, taken over by Agerpres.

Sergei Krikalev, deputy general director of Roscosmos, Russia's state space company, said future simulations will include parachute tests using a prototype equipped with highly realistic on-board systems, as well as tests carried out using a helicopter.

The space capsule is designed to carry cosmonauts and cargo to orbital stations and is expected to replace the Soyuz series of manned mission capsules, according to the TASS news agency.

This capsule is part of Russia's lunar program, with the ability to remain docked to stations in low Earth orbit for up to a year and to a station in lunar orbit for up to 180 days.

In an autonomous flight, the orbital version can operate for up to 30 days, while the lunar version is designed for missions of up to ten days.