Briefs: The Progress view; Kourou Soyuz update; Gagarin mission scrapbook
Here's a video showing the Progress docking from the view of the spacecraft:
Russian cargo ship docks with space station - BBC - July.4.10 .
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Arianespace aims for December for the first launch of a Soyuz rocket from the Guiana Space Center:
Workers put finishing touches on Soyuz launch pad - Spaceflight Now - July.2.10 .
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As the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight approaches, the Russian Space Agency has opened an on-line site with photos, documents and general information about Gagarin's mission:
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Russian Federal Space Agency - Roscosmos | 50 Years of the First Human Space Mission to be Celebrated on April 12, 2011
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Soviet Scrapbook - On Space/Aviation Week - July.2.10
07/05/10 12:19 AM |
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Progress docking with ISS fails
The automated docking of a Progress vehicle to the ISS was aborted today after the telemetry link was lost between the spacecraft and the Russian module to which it was aiming to dock. The vehicle sailed safely passed the station. No word on if and when another docking attempt will be made.
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International Space Station supply ship docking aborted - Spaceflight Now
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Russian Cargo Ship Veers Out of Control Near Space Station - SPACE.com
07/02/10 02:13 PM |
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Roscosmos to build extra Soyuz for commercial biz
Roscosmos says it will build an extra Soyuz spacecraft per year (from 4 to 5 total annually) to handle commercial flights to the ISS:
Russia to Expand Soyuz Production, Consolidate Space Industry - Parabolic Arc - June.19.10 .
06/20/10 10:09 AM |
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Brief: Soyuz launch success; Accessing Soyuz risks
The Soyuz launch went off well this afternoon. It will rendezvous with the ISS on Thursday at 6:25 p.m. EDT (2225 GMT):
New Space Station Crew Blasts Off on Soyuz Spaceship - SPACE.com .
James Oberg reviews various issues that arise with the coming Soyuz monopoly on crew access to the ISS during the next few years:
How risky is it to rely on Russian spaceflight? With shuttle's retirement, Baikonur will be NASA's only path to space - msnbc.com ..
06/15/10 08:17 PM |
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Briefs: Soyuz launch today; Unusual view of Soyuz landing; Dnepr launch
Two NASA astronauts (Doug Wheelock and Shannon Walker) and a Russian cosmonaut (Fyodor Yurchikhin) are set to ride a Soyuz to the ISS today. The liftoff is scheduled for 5:35 EDT (2135 GMT):
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Space Station Report | Mission Status Center - Spaceflight Now
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Three-person crew set for launch into space today - Spaceflight Now
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Here's a video with a ground view of a recent Soyuz landing:
Video Shows Soyuz Spaceship Landing Like Never Before - SPACE.com .
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A Russian Dnepr rocket today launched a French solar observation satellite and a pair of Swedish satellites that will demonstrate formation flying:
Dnepr rocket lifts off with satellites for France, Sweden - Spaceflight Now
06/15/10 10:31 AM |
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Energia projects
Via
Spaceports blog comes this article and video interview with Vitaly Lopota of the Russian
Energia corporation about projects under development including a six person crew vehicle replacement for Soyuz that is expected to be operational in 2018:
To the Moon and back - Russia Today - Apr.1.10 .
04/02/10 01:15 AM |
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The strange Dnepr
Jonathan Amos writes about the Dnepr rocket, which has some unusual features in the way it is launched and releases its payload:
Riding the strangest rocket in the world - Spaceman/BBC .
Examples of Dnepr launches:
03/19/10 10:56 AM |
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Briefs: Supply & demand & the ISS; Roscosmos news
Via
Spaceports blog comes this Russian Today video report with Jeffrey Manber about possible plans by Roscomos to
raise the price that NASA pays for the transport of astronauts to the ISS after the current agreement runs out in the spring of 2014:
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Rob Coppinger posts a collection of links to Roscomos related items:
Roscosmos roundup - Hyperbola - Feb.11.10 .
02/12/10 08:33 AM |
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Russian Explorer air-launched suborbital in news again
In 2006 a consortium that included
Myasishchev Design Bureau ,
Space Adventures and others announced plans to develop a suborbital space tourism system similar in many ways to the WhiteKnightOne/SpaceShipOne combo. A Myasishchev high altitude
Geophysica aircraft would air launch the rocket powered
Explorer vehicle, which would carry a pilot and 2 or 3 passengers to 100km. See, for example, Alan Boyle's report on the project:
New spaceship in the works? - Cosmic Log - June.2.06 .
Since then there have been occasional articles about the project but apparently the collaboration broke up after failing to find the money to get Explorer passed the mock-up phase. (More links
here .)
Today,
Rob Coppinger points to a
news report about the air launched system, which is still looking for the money (about $200M) to become operational:
02/04/10 02:24 PM |
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Russian Advanced Crew Vehicle update
Rob Coppinger points to
an overview of projects at Energia, which includes a brief item on the status of Russia's next crew capsule system:
Russia's Advanced Crew Vehicle PDR to be completed this year - Hyperbola .
01/12/10 11:02 AM |
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Buran pilots look back
Jack Kennedy points to a
documentary about the Soviet pilots who would have flown the Buran vehicle if the program had not been canceled. Unfortunately, the narration is in Russian, though the video clips are interesting on their own:
A Step Back in Time: The Pilots of Buran - Spaceports - Nov.20.09 .
11/20/09 10:30 PM |
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Russian space program update
Rob Coppinger writes about developments in the Russian space program:
The Bear's stars shine brighter - Flight Global .
08/11/09 10:19 AM |
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New Russian crew vehicle may use rocket powered vertical landing
RKK Energia is considering a rocket powered vertical landing system for the crew transportation system that will succeed the Soyuz:
Russia mulls rocket power 'first' - BBC . The liquid fueled propulsion system would be the primary landing system, unlike the small solid rockets rockets used to cushion the Soyuz parachute landings. The design of the
Prospective Piloted Transport System (PPTS), as its now called, is still being debated and will probably still have a parachute back-up.
04/29/09 04:29 PM |
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Russian Advanced Crew Transportation System
Rob Coppinger posts a couple of items regarding the start of development of a new manned space transportation system:
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Roscosmos specifies tourism role for Soyuz TMA replacement - Hyperbola
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Roscosmos offers 15-month $23.4 million ACTS contract - Hyperbola
03/30/09 10:29 AM |
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Briefs: Russian rocket update; Russian science sat to launch
More Russian rocket news from Rob Coppinger:
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Khrunichev's Proton to launch from Vostochny? - Hyperbola
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Testing rockets the Russian way - Hyperbola
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A reader tells me that Russia is preparing "to launch its first science satellite in years" - the
Koronas-Foton . See the
Spaceflight Now launch schedule for updates on the launch of the Tsyklon 3 rocket.
01/28/09 11:21 PM |
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Briefs: New Russian crew vehicle; Space in South Africa
The Russian space program has gotten healthier and more self-confident in the past few years as the overall economy there improved. Projects like this one would have seemed a sure thing at the beginning of 2008 but at the beginning of 2009, the follow through seems less certain:
Roscosmos to approve design of new spaceship - Roscosmos (via
spacetoday.net ).
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The droll style of this article can be a bit annoying but it actually provides a pretty good presentation of the benefits of space for a developing country like South Africa:
Space Age Launch Party - The Times (via
spacetoday.net ).
01/11/09 10:07 AM |
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A Soyuz cargo return vehicle; The Mini Research Module
Rob Coppinger posts a couple of items about Russian space projects:
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Russia plans Soyuz cargo return vehicle? - Hyperbola
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PICTURES: Russia's Mini Research Module 1 - Hyperbola
01/08/09 03:44 PM |
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Russian M-91 space tourist vehicle update
Here's a brief report on the
Russian M-91 suborbital space tourist vehicle mentioned in
this posting from last May:
New Rocket Airplane for Space Tourists - Russia-InfoCentre .
As before, this article also says the project at the Myasishchev Design Bureau has funding from an unnamed investor.
10/22/08 12:24 PM |
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More money for Russian space
With oil prices falling, Putin may not be as generous as planned but Roscosmos will probably get a good sized boost regardless:
Putin Pushes Billions in New Space Investment for Russia - Spaceports:
10/21/08 10:29 PM |
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