Foale says the station can work without the Shuttle and without problem even if it takes years before the shuttles get back up.

Soyuz rockets will be launched from Kourou. Haigneré is working on astronauts sent from Kourou in 2007.

- 4: ASTRONAUTS IN KOUROU IN 2007, IT IS POSSIBLE
Jean-Pierre Haigneré, former European astronaut committee chairman, is currently in charge of this project as part of the ESA launcher directorate. His assignment is to ensure that the configuration selected for the new Soyuz launch pad and facilities enable the development of manned missions. According to Jean-Pierre Haigneré, Europe has cherished the dream of manned flights for a long time. This project will be the first opportunity to make this dream come true with a low investment (the total investment amount for equipment related to manned flights would be 50 M€). As a backup for the ISS, a second Soyuz space ship is necessary to increase the number of astronauts working in the ISS and therefore, scientific research on board. This new ship could be launched from the CSG (French Guyana Space Center), whereby writing down the costs of new infrastructures. Jean-Pierre Haigneré added that Europe and Russia share a common desire to work together. Compared to Baïkonour, the Soyuz launch pad in the French Guyana will be equipped with a fixed launch tower, in addition to the four movable metal towers that hold the launcher before take-off. The fixed tower will allow assembling the payload to the launcher vertically. However, this fixed tower could be a problem, should astronauts had to use the Soyuz backup system. ESA teams have designed the architecture of this tower in such a way that addresses this issue. The first manned flights could be scheduled for as early as 2007, once the new CSG-based Soyuz launchers are ready for manned flights. For the time being, the Russians have not made any decision yet. This is still a project. [Ciel & Espace 09/2003] .

Raoul