MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Within the framework of the planned program of launches of the Proton-M heavy class launch vehicles, the State Space Research and Production Center named after M.V. Khrunichev (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) has four rockets left to manufacture. Currently, ten Proton-M launch vehicles are in storage, and this year it is planned to complete the manufacture of the last four rockets. The Proton is being replaced by […]

Schedule subject to change without notice. December 7 Launch Vehicle: Atlas 5 (United Launch Alliance)Payloads: STP-6 and several ridesharesLaunch Window: 4:04-6:04 a.m. EST (0904-1104 UTC)Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla.Webcast: www.nasa.gov The U.S. Space Force mission will launch the STPSat-6 satellite and several secondary payloads. STPSat 6 hosts NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration payload and the Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 for the National Nuclear Security Administration. […]

Russia’s new ISS science module Nauka ran into trouble after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday. A number of anomalies have popped up; the most serious issue at the moment appears to be with the Nauka‘s engine, which is needed to maneuver the module for a docking with the International Space Station. Roscosmos has been of no help in sorting out the reports. The Russian corporation in charge of […]

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan (Roscosmos PR) — On July 21, 2021 at 17: 58: 24.938  Moscow time, the launch vehicle “Proton-M” with the multipurpose laboratory module “Nauka” was launched from the launcher No. 39 of the launch pad No. 200 of the Baikonur cosmodrome. According to the received telemetric information, all stages of the launch vehicle flight (separation of stages and dumping of the nose fairing flaps) passed in the normal mode.

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan (ESA PR) — The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is set for launch on a Proton rocket to the International Space Station on 21 July at 16:58 CEST. The first robot that can ‘walk’ around the Russian part of the orbital complex will be launched with the new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

For Russia, 2020 was a mixed year in terms of launch. Once the world’s leader in sending payloads into space, the nation finished a distant third behind the United States and China with only 17 orbital flights. That figure was eight below the 25 launches in 2019, and Russia’s lowest number of the 21st century. The U.S. and China finished with 44 and 39 launch attempts, respectively.

On the bright side, 2020 was the second year in a row in which Russia did not experience a launch failure. That streak came after more a decade during which the Russian launch industry was plagued with multiple fmishaps.

SpaceX dominated, China surged and Russia had another clean sheet as American astronauts flew from U.S. soil again in a year of firsts.

First in a series

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a very busy launch year with a number of firsts in both human and robotic exploration. A total of 114 orbital launches were attempted, with 104 successes and 10 failures. It was the same number of launches that were conducted in 2018, with that year seeing 111 successes, two failures and one partial failure.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Russia recently marked the 25th anniversary of the entry of the Proton rocket into the international commercial marketplace. On April 8, 1996, a Proton-K booster with a DM3 upper stage launched the Astra 1F geosynchronous communications satellite built by U.S.-based Hughes for Luxembourg’s SES from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Well, this is interesting. And by interest, I mean what cynics had been predicting all along.

In the space of a couple of weeks, Russia’s plan for the future of the International Space Station (ISS) shifted from full withdrawal in 2025, to gradual withdrawal and the launch of a new Russian-only station beginning in 2025, to we’re fine with extending ISS to 2028 and we’ll start launching our new station then.

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — The new production facilities of the Khrunichev Center (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) will make it possible to produce up to ten missiles of the Angara family per year. In two cities of Russia, large-scale preparations are underway for the start of the serial production of missiles of this family. More details about the strategy and principles of organizing production, delimiting areas of responsibility between sites, the near and medium-term prospects of the heavy and light version of Angara.