Specialists at the "Vostochny" Cosmodrome on the Refueling Station completed the refueling of the "Fregat" upper stage with fuel components. SOn December 20, a general assembly of the space head is planned, and the next day, its transportation to the launch-rockets assembly and test facility. Small space vehicles have already been installed on the transition truss, and the "Canopus-B" remote sensing satellites № 5 and 6 are being prepared for installation on the transition truss. The launch of the "Soyuz-2.1a" launch vehicle with Russian satellites for remote sensing of the earth and monitoring of emergency situations "Kanopus-B" №% 5 and 6 is scheduled for December 27, 2018.

On December 17 at the "Vostochny" cosmodrome a preparation of the spaceunits "Kanopus-B" № 5 and № 6 for launch continues. At present, final operations are being carried out on the mechanical and electrical assembly of the spaceunits.   The launch of the "Soyuz-2.1a" launch vehicle is scheduled for December 27, 2018.

Russia Wants to Extend U.S. Space Partnership. Or It Could Turn to China. Russia’s Museum of Cosmonautics displays with rightful pride artifacts from its early years of storied achievements in space exploration: the first satellite, the first dog in space, the first man and, soon thereafter, the first toolbox. On Tuesday evening in Moscow, two Russian cosmonauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Oleg Kononenko, exited the station for a spacewalk to investigate the exterior of the capsule. They planned to remove a panel from the craft and return it to Earth for an examination for signs of leaked sealant. The Soviet Union, though beaten to the moon by the United States, was no slouch in lunar exploration. The Soviet Union was the first to photograph the far side of the moon and to land a rover and return a sample robotically. But it canceled its piloted program in the 1970s rather than strive for a second-place landing. “We were close,” Mr. Moiseyev said. Separate programs today, Mr. Rogozin said, are a fallback option. “It wouldn’t be right,” he said, to plan for a future of piloted flight after the International Space Station with multiple, competing national programs or alliances. What Russia can offer, Mr. Rogozin said, is a margin of safety for any future moon orbiting station. Over decades operating the Salyut and later Mir space stations, Russian cosmonauts tackled a range of in-flight emergencies and repairs ranging from fires to collisions that made the Russian program look like an orbiting Murphy’s Law. But they survived. “It’s better, cheaper and safer to go together,” Mr. Rogozin said. “Politicians will say, ‘Let’s do it alone,’ but politics ends where the opinion of a serious scientist begins. That’s what I say.” If the United States chooses to exclude Russia, and an emergency arises, he said, “Who will answer for that?”

The spacewalk according to the Russian program was successfully completed by the cosmonauts of Roscosmos Oleg Kononenko and Sergey Prokopiev. The total duration of the stay of the crew of the Russian segment of the International Space Station outside its borders was 7 hours and 45 minutes. When opening the screen-vacuum insulation and micro-meteoric protective panel on the outer surface of the living compartment of the "Soyuz MS-09" spacecraft, a small hole was found, that does not pose any danger to the crew of the ISS. It will also not threaten the safety of the crew of the ship, when it returns to Earth on December 20.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague are preparing for a new space flight, which is scheduled for March 1, 2019. NASA astronaut Christina Koch also joined the training sessions of Alexey Ovchinin and Nick Hague.

On December 3, 2018, at 14:31 (Moscow time), the "Soyuz-FG" launch vehicle with the "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft launched from launch complex № 1 (Gagarinsky start) at Baikonur cosmodrome. The docking of the ship with the station is scheduled for December 3, 2018 at 20:35 (Moscow time). Onboard the "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft members of the ISS-58/59 long expedition:Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques.

Today, on December 2, 2018, the traditional press conference of the "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft was held at the Training Complex of GCTC at the Baikonur City. The cosmonauts and astronauts answered the journalists' questions and told about the plans of the upcoming expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), spacewalks and the super-abilities, needed in space. Earlier, the State Commission approved the crews of the ship. The Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, astronaut of the Canadian space agency David Saint-Jacques and NASA astronaut Anne McClain have joined the main crew of "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft. In accordance with the flight program of the International Space Station, on December 3, 2018 at 14:31 (Moscow time), the "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft is scheduled to launch from the launch complex № 1 (Gagarinsky start) of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The docking of the "Soyuz MS-11" with the station is planned to be carried out automatically, the docking of the ship with the station will be carried out after six hours, according to the “short” scheme, and will take place on 3 December.

Today, on December 1, the carrier rocket "Soyuz-FG" with manned spacecraft "Soyuz MS-11" was rolled-out from the assembly and testing facility and installed at the launch complex № 1 "Gagarinsky start" at the Baikonur cosmodrome. On December 2, on the meeting of the State Commission the crews will be approved, and then the cosmonauts and astronauts will answer questions from media representatives at a prelaunch press conference. The launch of the carrier rocket "Soyuz-FG" with "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft is scheduled for 14:31 (Moscow time) on December 3.

On November 27, open training of the main and backup crews of the "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft took place at the Baikonur cosmodrome. After training, NASA astronaut Anne McClain planted a personal tree on the Cosmonauts Alley, following an existing tradition, before her first flight. The launch of the "Soyuz-FG" launch vehicle with the "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft is scheduled for December 3.

The "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft is being prepared for launch under the International Space Station program. In accordance with the schedule of preparatory work on Thursday, November 29, the “second fitting” will take place - the main and backup crews will conduct a vehicle inspection in the launch configuration, and then the head unit with "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft will be transported to the launch vehicles installation and test facility for general assembly with a rocket. The launch of the "Soyuz-FG" launch vehicle with "Soyuz MS-11" spacecraft is scheduled for December 3, 2018, from the launch complex number 1 (Gagarinsky start) of the Baikonur cosmodrome.