July 12, 2026
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Rockot

Mission Reports

Photos: Sentinel 5P environmental satellite prepared for liftoff

October 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

Europe’s Sentinel 5P satellite, fitted with a Dutch-developed spectrometer to measure gases in Earth’s atmosphere, was fueled and mated to its Russian Rockot booster over the last month at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a military complex around 500 miles (800 kilometers) north of Moscow.

Mission Reports

Live coverage: European environmental satellite launches from Russia

October 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

A modified Russian missile built for nuclear war blasted off on a peaceful mission Friday, targeting placement of a European Earth observation satellite in orbit to measure atmospheric chemistry and global air quality. Liftoff from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia occurred at 0927 GMT (5:27 a.m. EDT).

News

Russian satellite launched to measure Earth’s size and shape

June 4, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Russian military spacecraft designed to map variations in Earth’s gravity field, rotation and tectonic movement reached orbit Sunday after a launch aboard a modified Soviet-era missile that spawned an uproar from Canadian environmentalists over where the rocket would drop a potentially toxic booster stage.

News

Look back on the blastoff of a Russian missile-turned-launcher

February 17, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Soviet-era missile originally built to deliver nuclear warheads to the United States in wartime fired into space for a much different purpose Tuesday, carrying a European environmental satellite into orbit to help track the effects of climate change.

News

European oceanography satellite rides Russian rocket into orbit

February 16, 2016 Stephen Clark

Soaring into the night sky over a guarded Russian military base, a 1.2-ton European satellite rocketed into orbit Tuesday to regularly measure how the world’s oceans and ice sheets respond to climate change and drive global weather patterns.

Mission Reports

Live coverage: European ocean survey satellite launches from Russia

February 16, 2016 Stephen Clark

A European environmental satellite launched Tuesday from Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome to begin a mission of at least seven years measuring the height, color and temperature of the world’s oceans. The Sentinel 3A spacecraft lifted off aboard a Rockot booster at 1757 GMT (12:57 p.m. EST).

News

Satellite primed for launch to survey oceans, ice sheets

February 15, 2016 Stephen Clark

Russian rocket technicians fueled a decommissioned ballistic missile with propellants Monday, a day ahead of the launch of a European satellite primed to observe the planet’s oceans.

News

Photos: Sentinel 3A prepared for liftoff

February 15, 2016 Stephen Clark

Europe’s Sentinel 3A satellite, designed for real-time surveys of the world’s oceans, ice sheets, lakes and rivers, is attached to a decommissioned Russian nuclear missile for launch Tuesday. These photos show the spacecraft’s final prelaunch preparations.

News

Modified missile launches three Russian satellites

September 24, 2015 Stephen Clark

Three Russian military satellites arrived in orbit Wednesday after taking off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard a Rockot launch vehicle, a decommissioned ballistic missile modified for space applications.

News

Rockot launcher deploys Russian data relay satellites

March 31, 2015 Stephen Clark

Three small satellites launched from Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmdorome into a 930-mile-high orbit Tuesday, flying into space aboard a Rockot launcher to relay emails, technical data and other messages between remote users.

Posts pagination

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News Headlines

  • Semiconductor manufacturing test bed flies alongside Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 launch
    July 4, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB
    July 1, 2026
  • Astronauts ‘operate’ on space station’s broken robot arm
    June 30, 2026
  • Blue Origin outlines return to flight logistics for its New Glenn rockets
    June 30, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 7.5-ton SiriusXM satellite as part of constellation refresh
    June 28, 2026
  • SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base
    June 28, 2026
  • West Coast Falcon 9 launch continues expansion of SpaceX’s Starlink network
    June 24, 2026
  • NASA, Boeing committed to Starliner-1 launch despite unclear timeline
    June 23, 2026
  • SpaceX launches reentry capsule demo mission called ‘Starfall’
    June 23, 2026
  • NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrives in Florida
    June 22, 2026
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