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The State Commission made a decision on the readiness of the "Proton-M" launch vehicle with the "Yamal-601" spacecraft, installed on the launch pad of the site № 200 on May 27, for refueling with fuel components and confirmed the launch time. Launch is scheduled for May 30, 2019 at 20:42 (Moscow time). The live broadcast will be available on Roscosmos webpage in the Online Broadcast section.

May 30, 2019 marks the 85th anniversary of the famous Soviet cosmonaut № 11, the first man in the world, who step into open space - Alexey Leonov. On March 18-19, 1965 together with cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev, Alexey Leonov made a legendary flight, during which he performed the first spacewalk in the history of cosmonautics with a duration of 12 minutes 9 seconds. From RussianSpaceNews.com team we also wish all the best to Alexey Leonov!

The commander of the International Space Station, Oleg Kononenko, and flight engineer Alexey Ovchinin completed the first spacewalk in 2019 under the Russian program, having worked outside the orbital station for 6 hours and 1 minute. For the ISS commander Oleg Kononenko, this was the fifth spacewalk, and for Alexey Ovchinin - the first in his career. The crew of the 59th international expedition continues the flight program.

On May 27 specialists of the Vostochny Space Center (TsENKI company branch) together with the Progress Space Center (part of Roscosmos State Corporation) started the preparation of the "Soyuz-2.1b" launch vehicle component parts for launch. In the Assembly and Testing building of the launch vehicles of the Technical Complex joint team of the representatives of the enterprises of the rocket and space industry started works on removing the thermopackage from the units, external inspection and transfer of the launch vehicle units to the workplace. The "Soyuz-2.1b" launch vehicle will launch the "Meteor-M" № 2-2 spacecraft into orbit. This will be the fifth launch from the newest Russian cosmodrome. The first launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome took place on April 28, 2016.

The "Soyuz-2.1b" launch vehicle with the "Glonass-M" navigation satellite launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. After the launch, the "Soyuz-2.1b" was taken under control of the ground-based equipment of the Russian Space Forces. This is the first launch of the "Soyuz-2" from Plesetsk this year.

oday in the morning, the "Proton-M" launch vehicle with the "Breeze-M" upper stage and the Russian "Yamal-601" communications satellite was rolled out to the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome. The launch of the "Yamal-601" telecommunications satellite, manufactured by the French division of Thales Alenia Space according to the order of the Russian satellite operator JSC Gazprom Space Systems, is scheduled for May 30. The "Yamal-601" project is part of the Federal Program for the Development of Television and Radio Broadcasting in the Russian Federation.

The ceremony of presenting of State awards of the Russian Federation took place on May 23 in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin. The govermental awards were presented for Russian cosmonauts Fedor Yurchikhin (who made five expeditions to the ISS and nine spacewalks), Andrey Borisenko and Oleg Novitsky (who performed two space flights each).

A final assembly of the "Proton-M" space launch vehicle started at the Baikonur cosmodrome. It will launch the Russian communications and television satellite "Yamal-601" in the interests of the satellite operator Gazprom Space Systems. After the completion of the final assembly of the space rocket, its preparation for transportation to the technological refueling site for refueling of the "Breeze-M" upper stage will begin. The operations on the refueling site will complete the preparation of the rocket, performed at the technical complex, before it's roll out to the launch pad.

The spacecraft "Meteor-M" № 2-2 and equipment for its assembly and testing arrived at the Ignatievo Airport of the Amur Region. On May 21, the space cargo was transported from the airport to Vostochny Cosmodrome, where specialists of the Vostochny Space Center (TsENKI company branch) have already prepared all the necessary technological equipment for its reception and performed its unloading. The "Soyuz-2.1b" launch vehicle will launch the "Meteor-M" № 2-2 spacecraft into orbit. This will be the fifth launch from the newest Russian cosmodrome.

At the Baikonur cosmodrome the preparation for the launch of the "Soyuz MS-13" spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) is in process. Today spacecraft was tested for leak tightness in a vacuum chamber, after which specialists from Roskosmos enterprises performed its transportation to the Assembly and Testing building for further works. The launch of a "Soyuz-FG" launch vehicle with a spacecraft "Soyuz MS-13" is scheduled for July 20, 2019.