Tag: Russia
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New Russian space base ready for first launch
A new $3 billion cosmodrome nestled in the remote taiga wilderness of Russia’s Far East, a sprawling, sparkling facility constructed at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will host its first rocket launch early Wednesday. A Soyuz rocket is set to blast off with three satellites at 0201 GMT Wednesday (10:01 p.m. EDT Tuesday)…
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Progress cargo craft rolled out for launch to space station
The second of three robotic resupply ships going to the International Space Station in two weeks has arrived at its launch pad in Kazakhstan for liftoff Thursday aboard a Soyuz rocket. The Progress MS-02 cargo carrier and its Soyuz booster rolled out of an assembly hangar at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at dawn Tuesday,…
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Soyuz aces test campaign at new Vostochny Cosmodrome
The Soyuz-2.1a rocket sits on its launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome during tests last week. Credit: TsSKB Progress Russian technicians have finished tests of launch facilities at the Vostochny Cosmodrome ahead of the first liftoff from the new Siberian spaceport as soon as next month, Roscosmos announced Friday. The product of a multibillion-dollar investment…
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Soyuz launcher puts Russian military spy satellite in orbit
The Soyuz rocket carrying Russia’s second Bars-M military spy satellite lifted off at 0942 GMT (5:42 a.m. EDT; 12:42 p.m. local time) Thursday. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense A Russian military spacecraft with a high-resolution digital mapping camera is in orbit Thursday after a successful ascent aboard a Soyuz rocket. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off…
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Soyuz launch halted just before engine start
The launch of a Russian Earth observation satellite aboard a Soyuz rocket has been rescheduled for Sunday after a countdown Saturday stopped less than 20 seconds before liftoff. The Russian space agency — Roscosmos — said the launch was reset for 1856 GMT (2:56 p.m. EDT) Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the…
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Soyuz launch halted just before engine start
The launch of a Russian Earth observation satellite aboard a Soyuz rocket has been rescheduled for Sunday after a countdown Saturday stopped less than 20 seconds before liftoff. The Russian space agency — Roscosmos — said the launch was reset for 1856 GMT (2:56 p.m. EDT) Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the…
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European Mars probe encapsulated for launch
The ExoMars spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Proton rocket’s payload fairing March 2. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Europe’s ExoMars orbiter was enclosed inside the nose cone of its Proton rocket Wednesday ahead of its March 14 launch toward the red planet to sniff out the source of Martian methane. The fully-fueled Mars orbiter is…
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With Russian launch grounded, Iridium flips order of satellite deployments
Artist’s concept of an Iridium Next satellite. Credit: Iridium Stymied by Russian government dithering that has indefinitely grounded a test launch on a modified Soviet-era missile, Iridium officials say that SpaceX agreed to move forward to July the first of seven Falcon 9 launches from California with the company’s next-generation mobile communications satellites. Iridium originally…
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Putin blasts mismanagement at new Russian spaceport
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Soyuz launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Credit: Kremlin press service The first launch from Russia’s new cosmodrome in the country’s Far East will not occur until at least early 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week, in a widely-anticipated delay after reports of botched construction and corruption…
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Remembering Sputnik – The satellite that began the Space Race
58 years ago a tiny satellite was successfully lofted into orbit, firing the opening salvo in what would become the Space Race. Sputnik-1 became the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth, a trailblazer for thousands of spacecraft that have since ridden uphill while providing the initiator of technological advances that allowed humans to leave the…