On the website of the state corporation “Roskosmos” it is reported that the landing site for the promising spacecraft “Eagle” and “Orlyonok” selected two sites in the region of Orenburg. Both ships are being built as part of the Russian lunar program. “Eagle” will be four-seater with the ability to bring the crew up to six people, and “Eaglet” will be a lightweight two-seater version of the “Eagle”.

Image source: “Roskosmos”

The first uncrewed Eagle launch is scheduled for December 15, 2023 from the Vostochny cosmodrome. In this flight, docking with the ISS is not provided. The second flight of “Eagle” without a crew is scheduled for 2024 with a docking with the ISS. The first manned flight of the new spacecraft should take place in 2025.

Double “Eaglet” will be created using 90% of the components of the “Eagle”, but will weigh no more than 16 tons, while the weight of the “Eagle” will be 5 tons more. To launch the Orlyonok, it is planned to use the Angara carrier rocket. The first launch of Orlyonok is expected in 2027 or 2028 as part of the flight program to the Moon.

One of the landing zones of the lunar ships will be located 1500 km from Orenburg (radius – 8 km), and the other – 3600 km from Rubtsovsk (radius – 10,5 km). After landing, the ships will need to be delivered either to one or to another center, so the landing sites were chosen in order to reduce the time and resources for transportation. It is planned to spend up to 1,88 billion rubles on the development of the landing zone design and related work.