Tag: Russia
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Russian supply ship launches to International Space Station
A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Wednesday with the Progress MS-23 cargo ship. Credit: Roscosmos Russia’s Progress MS-23 cargo freighter launched Wednesday from Kazakhstan on a mission hauling more than 2.7 tons of fuel, food, experiments, and supplies to the International Space Station. The Progress MS-23 supply ship lifted off at 8:56:07…
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Seized property at Baikonur threatens Soyuz-5 program
In early March 2023, reports began to circulate that Kazakhstan had seized the property of Roscosmos at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This has raised questions regarding launch operations from the spaceport, including important crew and cargo logistics flights for the International Space Station (ISS). However, it is likely that the development of the Soyuz-5 rocket, as…
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Russia launches classified payload from Plesetsk on Soyuz-2.1v
At 19:57 UTC on Wednesday, March 29, Russia’s Soyuz-2.1v rocket launched from Site 43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying an unknown payload designated Kosmos-2568 to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The identity of the payload is unknown, but it may be another inspector satellite, similar to one flown on a previous Soyuz-2.1v launch. If Kosmos-2568 is…
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Damaged Soyuz MS-22 craft returns home uncrewed
The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, which launched Expedition 68 crewmembers Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin, and NASA’s Frank Rubio on Sept. 21, 2022, returned to Earth in automated mode after suffering a leak in a coolant loop last December. Cosmonauts Prokopyev and Petelin were preparing to conduct an EVA on the Russian segment of the…
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Damaged Russian Soyuz capsule returns to Earth without a crew
A helicopter, part of Russia’s recovery steam, lands near the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on the steppe of Kazakhstan Tuesday. Credit: Roscosmos A Russian Soyuz spacecraft originally slated to bring home two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut parachuted to a landing in Kazakhstan Tuesday, returning to Earth without a crew due to concerns about overheating…
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Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a launches Bars-M reconnaissance satellite
Making its first military launch since November, Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a rocket has deployed Kosmos 2567 – likely a Bars-M reconnaissance satellite – into Sun-synchronous orbit. Soyuz lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 9:40 AM Moscow Time (06:40 UTC), taking around ten minutes to complete its mission. As is typical for Russian military launches, few details…
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Russian Proton-M launches Olymp-K-2 military satellite
At 23:13 UTC on March 12, Russia’s Proton-M rocket launched from Site 200/39 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the Olymp-K-2 satellite, also referred to as Luch-5X. The Olymp-K satellites are Russian geostationary satellites built for Russian military and intelligence use. Olymp Satellites The Olymp-K satellites, also referred to as Luch, are Russian geostationary satellites built for…
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Crew Dragon Endurance returns to Earth on Crew-5 mission
The Crew-5 astronauts returned to Earth on the evening of Saturday, March 11, after spending the last five months aboard the International Space Station. Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada of NASA, Koichi Wakata of JAXA, and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos undocked their Crew Dragon, C210 Endurance, early on Saturday at 2:20 AM EST (07:20 UTC).…
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Uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 “rescue” mission arrives at ISS
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, docked an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a plan to replace the stricken Soyuz MS-22 vehicle. The MS-23 mission launched atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, Feb. 24, at 00:24 UTC. It docked without…
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Progress MS-22 arrives at ISS, MS-21 develops coolant loop leak
Roscosmos’ latest Progress resupply craft has docked at the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff of the Progress MS-22 mission occurred at 06:15 UTC on Feb. 9 from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz-2.1a rocket, docking two days later on Feb. 11 at 08:45 UTC. After the successful docking, Roscosmos engineers…