Khrunichev – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Russian Proton rocket blasts off with EchoStar 21

June 13, 2017

Look back on last week’s launch of a Russian Proton rocket from Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite, a commercial craft designed to beam broadband connectivity to customers across Europe.

Video: Proton rocket returns to service with launch of EchoStar 21

June 8, 2017

A Proton rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite Thursday, the heaviest commercial payload ever flown aboard a Russian booster.

Live coverage: Proton rocket blasts off for first time in a year

June 7, 2017

A Russian Proton rocket launched at 0345 GMT Thursday (11:45 p.m. EDT Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite, a hefty 7.6-ton telecommunications station designed to support a mobile network in Europe. Managed by U.S.-based International Launch Services, the mission will take more than nine hours to deliver EchoStar 21 into a geostationary transfer orbit using five burns of the Breeze M upper stage engine.

Russia recalls rocket engines, grounding Proton missions until spring

February 3, 2017

The Russian government is investigating flaws found in Proton rocket engines, ordering all suspect components to be replaced before the heavy-lift booster can resume launches and promising penalties for those responsible for allowing substandard parts to slip through inspection.

Proton rocket’s next flight moved back to next year

December 26, 2016

The first launch of a Russian Proton rocket since June has been delayed until at least January to conduct additional checks on the three-stage booster and its Breeze M upper stage, Russian space officials said.

Smaller variants of Russia’s Proton rocket on the market

September 22, 2016

Khrunichev and International Launch Services, the team behind Russia’s Proton rocket, are developing two scaled-down versions of the booster in a bid to capture a wider share of the commercial launch market, the companies announced last week.

Russia’s Angara rocket wins first commercial launch contract

August 2, 2016

South Korea’s space agency has signed a contract to launch an Earth observation satellite into orbit in 2020 aboard Russia’s Angara rocket, giving the new booster its first commercial customer, International Launch Services announced Monday.

Investigation into upper stage glitch delays next Proton launch

August 1, 2016

The launch of an EchoStar communications satellite to cover Europe has been delayed to October to allow Russian engineers to complete an inquiry into a glitch suffered during a Proton rocket flight in June, industry officials said.

Upgraded Proton booster adds satellite to Intelsat’s fleet

June 9, 2016

Debuting lighter structural components to carry heavier satellites into orbit, a Russian Proton rocket fired into space from Kazakhstan on Thursday and successfully placed a U.S.-built television broadcast craft into orbit for Intelsat and DirecTV.

Photos: Proton rocket climbs into space from Kazakhstan

June 9, 2016

A Russian Proton rocket lifted off Thursday with a U.S.-built communications satellite to broadcast television over Latin America, firing into orbit from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.