News Archive

On December 19, at 19:37:14 (Moscow time), the "Soyuz-ST-A" launch vehicle with the French satellite "CSO-1" was successfully launched from the launch site of the Guiana Space Center. The Russian launch vehicles - the "Soyuz-ST-A" launch rocket (manufactured by "Progress" RSC) and the "Fregat-M" upper stage (manufactured by NPO "Lavochkin") - completed the flight program without any claims. The device is taken by the customer for control.  

The 57th long expedition is being completed at the International Space Station (ISS). According to preliminary data from the ballistic and navigation support service of the Mission Control Center, the undocking of the "Soyuz MS-09" spacecraft from the ISS is scheduled for December 4, 2018 at 04:00. 40 min 30 seconds (Moscow time). Landing of the descent vehicle of the "Soyuz MS-09" spaceship is expected at 08:03 am (Moscow time) 147 km south-east of the city of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

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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.

The launch of the "Soyuz-ST-A" launch vehicle, scheduled for December 18. from the Guiana Space Center, was postponed for a day due to bad weather conditions. The decision to postpone the start was made by the French security service based on the security parameters. The launch of the "Soyuz-ST-A" launch vehicle with the CSO-1 satellite is scheduled for December 19 at 19:37:14 Moscow Time

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.

The "Soyuz-ST-A" launch vehicle has been rolled out to the launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre to begin final preparations for liftoff. The launch is scheduled for December 18 at 19:37 (Moscow time).

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.

The cosmonauts of Roscosmos, Sergei Prokopiev and Oleg Kononenko, on December 11, 2018 at 18:59 (Moscow time), opened the hatch of the 'Pirs' docking compartment and went into openr space. You can see live broadcasting of NASA TV in English here: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public