Russian space related news and developments

Rahul Singh

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US lift symbolic sanctions against Russian space firm

Published 11 March, 2010

Washington has lifted sanctions against Russian space company Glavkosmos, imposed in response to missile collaboration with Iran. The sanctions were merely symbolic, since the firm did not do business in the US.

The sanctions have been lifted starting Wednesday in a move motivated by interests of national security and foreign policy, a bulletin published by the Federal Register said.

Glavkosmos had been barred from dealing with American companies since June 30, 1998. The restriction was imposed in accordance with US non-proliferation legislation in response to the company’s cooperation with Iran. Shortly before that, Iran had successfully tested a ballistic missile.

Targeted by the same order were seven other Russian companies and organizations. Sanctions against them were lifted earlier, after no evidence of their contacts with Iran was found.

Earlier sanctions against Glavkosmos were imposed by the US in 1992 due to its supply of rocket engines to India. Those were lifted three years later.
 

Rahul Singh

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Russian company eyes offensive military satellite



Leading Russian spacecraft producer Energia has presented a concept of a universal military satellite with offensive capabilities.

lThe 20-ton orbiter with a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years would be powered by a 150 to 500 kilowatt nuclear reactor and will be able to “monitor territories and airspace, provide informational superiority – including in armed conflicts – and perform target designation and traffic control. It will also be offensive-capable,” said Energia head Vitaly Lopota, as cited by ITAR-TASS news agency.

He did not specify what offensive capabilities the satellite would have; whether it will be able to target other spacecraft, ground targets, or both.

The concept goes against Russia’s voiced intention to keep space an arms-free zone. However, with several nations believed to be actively pursuing space-based or anti-satellite weapons, Energia’s design may find support among the country’s leadership.
 

Rahul Singh

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Russia developing anti-satellite weapons



The Russian military are developing anti-satellite weapons, according to deputy defence minister, Vladimir Popovkin.

The general said it was necessary, as other nations, namely the US and China, were doing the same.

“We can’t sit and watch others do it. I can only say similar works are done in Russia too,” he told the Interfax news agency.

He added Russia needed the capability to shoot down satellites in case “somebody put weapons into space.”

Previously Russia had been calling for weapons in space to be banned, as well as weapons that could be used against spacecraft and satellites.
 

gogbot

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Russia developing anti-satellite weapons



The Russian military are developing anti-satellite weapons, according to deputy defence minister, Vladimir Popovkin.

The general said it was necessary, as other nations, namely the US and China, were doing the same.

“We can’t sit and watch others do it. I can only say similar works are done in Russia too,” he told the Interfax news agency.

He added Russia needed the capability to shoot down satellites in case “somebody put weapons into space.”

Previously Russia had been calling for weapons in space to be banned, as well as weapons that could be used against spacecraft and satellites.
i though our allies in the north already had their own ASAT systems since teh soviet union.

they must mean a new generation of ASAT systems
 

nandu

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Russia to launch two Intelsat satellites

The Russian rocket carrier Proton will deliver two telecommunication satellites to orbit for Intelsat, the world's biggest satellite communication consortium.

According to the agreement, Intelast-21 will be put into orbit in early 2012 and Intelsat-23 at the end of 2011, American International Launch Services (ILS), in which Russia's Khrunichev Space Centre has a majority share, said Monday.

Both satellites will be launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Protons have already put six Intelsat satellites into the target orbits, including on February 12, 2010.

Intelsat-21 with a flight weight of 6.3 tonnes is being made by Boeing. It will replace Intelsat-9 to service customers in the Western Hemisphere and Europe, providing digital television and radio broadcasting, telephone, and broadband Internet access services.

Intelasat-23 with a takeoff weight of 2.73 tonnes will be made by Orbital Sciences, Virginia, to provide telecom services in North and South America, Europe, and Africa.

ILS is based outside Washington DC, in Reston, Virginia, and advances Khrunichev's Proton and Briz-M booster services to the international markets.

The joint venture was created in 1995 by Lockheed Martin, which seceded in 2006, and RKK Energia has made 57 Proton launches since 1996.

Source:brahmand.com
 

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Soyuz spacecraft with two astronauts undocks from ISS

The Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft carrying two astronauts successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
The space capsule carrying Maxim Surayev of Russia and Jeff Williams of the United States from the ISS Expedition 22 is scheduled to land in central Kazakhstan at approximately 14:23 Moscow time [11:23 GMT].
Surayev and Williams have spent over 169 days in orbit.
Work at the ISS will be continued by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and the U.S.'s Timothy Creamer, until they are joined by Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko, and U.S. astronaut Tracy Caldwell, who are scheduled to depart for the ISS on a Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft on April 2.

Source:RIA Novosti
 

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A Proton-M carrier rocket Russia set to launch Proton-M rocket with U.S. telecoms satellite

A Proton-M carrier rocket with the U.S. telecommunications satellite Echostar 14 will be launched on Saturday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
The launch has been scheduled for 21:27 Moscow time (18:27 GMT).
A contract to launch the Echostar 14 has been concluded between the Russian-U.S. joint venture International Launch Services (ILS) and the U.S. telecommunications company Echostar.
Baikonur, built in Kazakhstan in the 1950s, is the main launch facility for the current generation of Russian rockets and was leased by Russia from Kazakhstan under an agreement signed in 1994 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russia pays an estimated annual fee of $115 million for the use of the space center, which has the world's busiest launch schedule at the moment.

Source:RIA Novosti
 

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ISS orbit to be raised by 1.7 km - Mission Control


The orbital altitude of the International Space Station (ISS) will be boosted by 1.7 kilometers (about a mile) on March 24, a spokesman for the Russian Mission Control said on Tuesday.
"The maneuver will be performed with the help of eight boosters on board the Progress M-04M space freighter which is currently docked with the Zvezda module [on the ISS]," the spokesman said.
"As a result of the operation...the ISS's orbit will be raised 1.7 kilometers, bringing the space station to an altitude of 348 kilometers [about 216 miles] above the Earth's surface," the official said.
Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian spacecraft and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to safeguard successful dockings with the ISS.
The next ISS mission is scheduled to depart for the orbital station on a Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft on April 2.

http://en.rian.ru
 

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Soyuz crew ready for launch to ISS on Friday

BAIKONUR, KAZAKHSTAN : Russia's Federal Space Agency on Thursday gave final approval to the crew for the next expedition to the International Space Station
(ISS), a media report said.

The crew is all set to take off from Baikonur on a journey to the ISS aboard a spaceship on Friday morning for a six-month orbital mission. The Soyuz-FG rocket with Soyuz TMA-18 piloted spacecraft is scheduled to take off at 08:04 Moscow time (04:04 GMT).

While Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Korniyenko and U S astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson will lift off, the others - Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutayev, Andrei Borisenko and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly - will remain on the ground.

Meanwhile, The Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft due to take the crew to the space station has been moved to a launch pad at Kazakhstan's Baikonur space center.

The spacecraft will dock with the ISS on Sunday, where the crew will join Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, U.S. astronaut Timothy Creamer, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/Soyuz-crew-ready-for-launch-to-ISS-on-Friday/3522/1/14.html
 

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Russia proposes ISS as platform for deep space missions

Russia has proposed to design a spaceship in partnership with foreign countries that will explore the deep space and make the International Space Station its base.

The small spaceship will fly beyond the low earth orbit (LEO) and make the ISS its platform after returning from exploring deep cosmic objects which could be either the lunar orbit or an asteroid, Alexey Krasnov, Head of Roscosmos Human Space Flight Directorate, said.

Russia put forth the proposal in this regard during a meeting of the heads of space agencies in Tokyo.

“The partner countries have expressed their interest to this cooperative initiative,” Krasnov said.

Russia plans to build the new spaceship by 2020.

“Technical objective of the project is still to be defined by Russian engineers, together with their foreign colleagues, probably…Russian space programme implies development of an orbital integration and experimental facility in 2020-2030,” Krasnov said.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/Russia-proposes-ISS-as-platform-for-deep-space-missions/3560/1/11.html
 

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NASA extends ISS contract with Roscosmos

NASA has signed a $ 335 million deal with Russian Federal Agency Roscosmos, for transporting crew to the International Space Station (ISS).

The new contract is the modification of an earlier contract, for the crew transportation, rescue and related services in 2013 and 2014.

Space station crew members will launch on four Soyuz vehicles in 2013 and return on two vehicles in 2013 and two in 2014, NASA said in a news release.

"The firm-fixed price modification covers comprehensive Soyuz support, including all necessary training and preparation for launch, crew rescue, and landing of a long-duration mission for six individual station crew members," the release said.

Under the contract modification, the Soyuz flights will carry limited cargo associated with crew transportation to and from the station, and disposal of trash.

NASA will scrap its Discovery shuttlelaunches in late September this year.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/NASA-extends-ISS-contract-with-Roscosmos/3568/1/11.html
 

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Russia has no plans to deploy weapons in space - top brass

The commander of Russia's space forces said on Friday Russia had no plans to deploy weapons of any kind in space.

Some analysts have suggested that Russia could deploy space weapons as part of measures to counter controversial U.S. plans to build missile shields in Europe.

"We have no such plans," Maj. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko told a news conference in Moscow a day after Russia and the United States signed a new START treaty, which significantly cuts the nuclear arsenals of both countries and for the first time recognizes the interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms.

Ostapenko said that the signing of the new treaty would not affect the activities and plans of the Russian Space Forces.

"The plans and tasks set by the commander-in-chief [the president] have not changed and are being developed at a determined pace," the general said.

He added that changes would only be made if "breakthrough technologies emerge that affect the plans and budgets."

As of 2009, there are no known operative orbital weapons systems, but several were developed by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Development of orbital weaponry was largely halted after the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 1979 SALT II Treaty came into force. These agreements prohibit weapons of mass destruction (but not other weapons) being placed in space.

In 2008, Russia and China proposed a draft international treaty to ban the deployment of weapons of any kind in space and to prohibit the use of force against space objects.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100409/158497786.html
 

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Proton-M with Arabsat-5 telecoms satellite blasts off


Proton-M ready to blast off with Arabsat-5 telecoms satellite.

MOSCOW (BNS): Proton-M launch vehicle Friday blasted off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakstan to put in orbit the Arabsat-5 telecommunications satellite.

RIA Novosti quoting a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency said that the launch went off in normal mode, as scheduled. The satellite is scheduled to separate approximately 9 hours and 13 minutes after liftoff.

The Arabsat-5 (commercial name BADR-5) will be co-located with BADR-4 and BADR-6 Direct-To-Home satellites, launched in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

The launch was carried out under a contract between the International Launch Services (ILS) and ARABSAT satellite operator. ILS, owned by the Khrunichev Center, RSC Energia and U.S. firm Space Transport Inc., provides spacecraft launch services for Proton-M heavy carrier rockets.

The satellite was built by France's Thales Alenia Space on behalf of EADS Astrium of Paris, the report said.

http://www.brahmand.com/news/Proton-M-with-Arabsat-5-telecoms-satellite-blasts-off/4072/1/10.html
 

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Soyuz to launch Progress cargo craft on Wednesday
Last Updated: Jun 30, 2010



BAIKONUR (BNS): Russia will launch a Soyuz-U rocket carrying the Progress M-06M space freighter to the International Space Station on Wednesday.

The spacecraft will be launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome at 15:35 GMT, federal space agency Roscosmos said.

Late cargo access and tanking of the spacecraft will be done later on Wednesday after which the rocket will get the go-ahead for launch, the agency said.

The Progress spaceship will deliver about 2.5 tonne of supplies, including propellant, water, air, scientific equipment, consumables, etc, to the ISS. It is expected to dock with the orbital station at 16:55 GMT on Friday.

Earlier on Monday, the Soyuz-TMA 19 manned spacecraft was moved from its docking port at the space station's Zvezda module to the Raasvet module to make way for the Progress cargo craft.

The space station's orbit was raised by 2.5 kilometers earlier this month to ensure smooth docking of both the Soyuz TMA-19 and the Progress M-06M spaceships.





http://www.brahmand.com/news/Soyuz-to-launch-Progress-cargo-craft-on-Wednesday/4304/3/10.html
 

nrj

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Russia building space centre

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday flagged off the construction of a new space centre in the Russian Far East describing it as the country's "most ambitious project."

The new cosmodrome is to become operational in 2016 and by 2020 it will host all Russian manned space missions, Mr. Putin said inaugurating the start of construction work at the former missile defence base of Vostochny near the town of Uglegorsk, nearly 6000 km east of Moscow, and less than 1,000 km away from China.

The government has allocated 24.5 billion roubles ($800 million) for the first stage of the project, which will involve the construction of a heavy-duty airfield and a town for 40,000 to 50,000 residents.

Russia currently launches its manned spacecraft and commercial missions from the Soviet-era Baikonur space centre, which it has leased from Kazakhstan for $115 million a year till 2050. Military satellites are launched from the small space centre in Plisetsk in northern Russia.

Russia will continue to use Baikonur as demand for space launches kept growing, Mr. Putin said, but it was strategically important to have "independent access to space."

The new space facility will "reassert Russia's status as a leading technological nation," Mr. Putin said.

Source
 

nrj

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Bye Bye, Baikonur!

 
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Russia's Rokot to launch two European satellites in 2012-13

MOSCOW (BNS): The European Space Agency will launch two of its scientific satellites on board Russia's Rokot carrier rockets in 2012-13.

The space agency has inked a deal with Russia in this regard, according to a media report.


"We have signed contracts for two launches of ESA remote sensing satellites on Russia's Rokot carrier rockets," Rene Pischel, the head of the ESA Moscow Office, was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti.

While one of the satellites is 'SWARM' which will survey the geomagnetic field of Earth, the other satellite is yet to be known, the ESA official said.

The Rokot launch vehicle is a converted version of Russia's SS-19 Stiletto intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The rocket is capable of launching a payload of 1,950 kilograms into Low Earth Orbit.

The three-stage liquid fuelled rocket has a spacious payload compartment allowing large size satellites to be accommodated.

The launch vehicle has been operational since the 1990s and has successfully placed in orbit over 25 spacecraft.





Top News - Brahmand.com
 

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Russian space freighter takes burial in Pacific

MOSCOW (BNS): Russian space freighter Progress M-05M completed its autonomous flying mission on Monday and took burial in the Pacific Ocean.

The spacecraft, launched in April this year on a supply mission to the International Space Station, had separated from the docking port on the Pirs module of the orbital station on October 25.



After separation, the Progress continued flying autonomously before taking "burial" in the southern Pacific on Monday.

In line with the programme uploaded by MCC, Progress retroburn was initiated at 11:50 Moscow time (0850 GMT). The main engine operated for 186.2 sec, providing the braking burn of 89.7 mps to the vehicle.

The remaining parts of the spacecraft which could not burn during reentry, fell in the south area of the Pacific ocean at about 12:35 MSK, Russian space agency Roscosmos said.







http://www.brahmand.com/news/Russian-space-freighter-takes-burial-in-Pacific/5489/1/21.html
 

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Russia to launch Glonass-K2 in 2013

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia's next generation Glonass-K2 navigation satellite will be launched in 2013, a top official from Russia's Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, said.

According to Sergei Revnivykh, Deputy Director of Roscosmos's Central Research Institute of Machine Building, the new satellite will be featured with upgraded signal downloading system, following the demand of the users.

"We have decided to modernise the Glonass signal system. We will introduce new signals with a code separation," said Sergei Revnivykh at a conference in Moscow.



Glonass-K2 will provide three new code-distinguished signals: in L1 and L2 bands for special users, and one in L1 band for users.

The new design will have a 10-year service life.

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) is an alternative and complementary system to the US' Global Positioning System, China's Compass navigation system, and the planned Galileo positioning system of the European Union.

Designed for both military and civilian purposes, GLONASS enables its users to determine their positions within a few meters.





http://www.brahmand.com/news/Russia-to-launch-Glonass-K2-in-2013/5522/1/14.html
 

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Russian scientists developing moonbase protection systems


Russian scientists are developing automatic sealing systems to protect future manned space stations on the Moon and Mars from debris, Russia's Central Research Institute of Machine Building said.


Russian scientists begin developing self-sealing space stations

"Protection of spacecraft modules against micrometeorite impact and space debris, based on the use of protective screens, that is passive protection, is at the limit of its technical capability due to weight restrictions," the institute's experts said.

"This is why we need to develop new protection based on self-sealing systems capable of independently and quickly restoring the object's air-tightness in case of leaks," they said.

Scientists said there are three ways of self-sealing a spacecraft. The first is to place a plug into the hole and thus stop the air leak. The second is to feed liquid sealant into the rupture, and the third is a combination of the two methods.

KOROLYOV, November 23 (RIA Novosti)







http://en.rian.ru/science/20101123/161463812.html
 

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