Tag: Russia
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Soyuz MS-28 launches three new crew members to ISS
The next crewed mission to the International Space Station has launched from Kazakhstan. The Soyuz MS-28 mission, carrying two Roscosmos cosmonauts and a single NASA astronaut to the orbiting laboratory, lifted off from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Thursday, Nov. 27, at 09:27 UTC. The mission marks the final launch to the Station…
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Launch Roundup: Soyuz launches ISS crew; Vega C and Falcon 9 launch customer missions
This week has seen seven launches from five different rockets from across the world. SpaceX launched two missions on its workhorse Falcon 9, while a Russian Soyuz launched three new crew members towards the International Space Station from Kazakhstan. A Russian military payload launched atop an Angara 1.2 from northern Russia, and South Korea launched…
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ESA Ministers to Weigh Historic Move Toward Defense-Focused Space Projects
The European Space Agency (ESA) is poised for a pivotal decision later this month, as its Council of Ministers prepares to vote on a package of projects that could mark the agency’s first formal step toward supporting European defense activities. The two-day meeting, scheduled for Nov. 26–27, will bring together senior officials from ESA’s 23…
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After Russian spaceport firm fails to pay bills, electric company turns the lights off
One of Russia’s most important projects over the last 15 years has been the construction of the Vostochny spaceport as the country seeks to fly its rockets from native soil and modernize its launch operations. However, the initiative has been a fiasco from the start. After construction began in 2011, the project was beset by…
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Launch Roundup: Cygnus XL and Progress fly cargo missions to ISS
Two cargo resupply missions have launched to the International Space Station this week. A Russian Soyuz launched the Progress MS-32 spacecraft Thursday, to be followed on Sunday by a Falcon 9 carrying Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus XL vehicle. In addition to Cygnus XL, Falcon 9 launched one Starlink mission and two customer missions. Russia and…
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Russian space official: “We need to stop lying to ourselves” about health of industry
The chief of Russia’s main spacecraft manufacturer issued a dire warning this week, saying that his corporation has reached a “critical” condition and cannot continue in its present state. “The situation is critical: multi-million dollar debts, interest on loans that ‘eat up’ the budget, many processes that are ineffective, and a significant part of the…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX, Chinese, and Russian missions make up busy week
Two Chinese rockets, a pair of Russian missions, a trio of Falcon 9 launches, a New Shepard, an Electron, and the long-awaited tenth flight of Starship were scheduled to fly this week. In Russia, a Soyuz rocket launched a modernized version of the Vostok capsule that flew crewed missions in the 1960s from Baikonur, while…
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Roscosmos Ionosfera science mission launches atop Soyuz from Vostochny Cosmodrome
A Soyuz 2.1b rocket launched from Site 1S at Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites into a Sun-synchronous orbit. Launch took place on Friday, July 25, at 05:54 UTC and saw Soyuz fly on a northern trajectory over vast but sparsely populated territory. The Ionosfera-M no. 3 and no. 4 satellites are flying…
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Launch Roundup: Russian and European science missions launched during busy week
Seven launches took place this week. Four of these are Falcon 9s, with SpaceX launching two customer missions and two Starlink missions. Internationally, Russia and Europe have both launched science payloads, while, in Australia, Gilmour Space intended to attempt to launch its Eris rocket once again, but has delayed again, into next week. In China,…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX completes east coast doubleheader, Russia to resupply ISS
With the month of June coming to a close and July on the horizon, the global launch manifest remains jam-packed. SpaceX has kicked off the week with two Falcon 9 launches from Florida, with a Starlink mission and the launch of a geostationary weather satellite. This doubleheader will be followed by a Chinese launch from…