Russia – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Astronaut’s family won’t attend launch next month due to coronavirus threat

March 20, 2020

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy’s family will be watching remotely from halfway around the world when he blasts off April 9 from Kazakhstan to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station.

Soyuz rocket launches with Russian navigation satellite

March 16, 2020

A Soyuz booster and Fregat upper stage carried a Russian Glonass navigation satellite into orbit Monday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian space officials said.

Launch of ExoMars rover delayed to 2022

March 12, 2020

Most parts of the joint European-Russian ExoMars lander and rover are nearly ready for launch, but trouble with parachutes, electronics, software and concerns about the growing coronavirus pandemic have delayed the mission’s departure to Mars from this year until 2022, officials announced Thursday.

Soyuz rocket launches Russian military satellite after one-month delay

February 20, 2020

A Russian military communications satellite rode a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage Thursday into an orbit stretching nearly 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers) above Earth, successfully launching after a one-month delay to replace a suspect third stage on the Soyuz booster.

Russian space agency replaces cosmonauts on next space station crew

February 19, 2020

Citing medical reasons, Russia’s space agency announced Wednesday that it is replacing two cosmonauts who were scheduled to fly on the next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April with backup crew members.

Koch and crewmates back on Earth

February 6, 2020

Christina Koch, veteran of six spacewalks outside the International Space Station — including the first all-female excursion — joined a Russian commander and an Italian flight engineer for a fiery plunge to landing in frigid Kazakhstan early Thursday, setting a new record for the longest single flight by a female.

Live coverage: Space station crew safely returns to Earth

February 5, 2020

The Russian Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft departed the International Space Station and landed in Kazakhstan Thursday, bringing home outgoing space station commander Luca Parmitano, Soyuz pilot Alexander Skvortsov, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who concluded a 328-day mission, the longest-ever spaceflight by a woman. The Soyuz undocked from the station at 0550 GMT (12:50 a.m. EST) Thursday, then landed on the Kazakh steppe at 0912 GMT (4:12 a.m. EST).

Koch heads home after record-setting mission

February 5, 2020

Christina Koch, veteran of six spacewalks outside the International Space Station — including the first all-female excursion — will join a Russian commander and an Italian flight engineer for a fiery plunge back to Earth early Thursday, setting a new world record for the longest single flight by a female astronaut.

Long March, Soyuz and Falcon rockets topped 2019’s launch leaderboard

January 2, 2020

China led the world with 34 orbital launch attempts in 2019 — including two failures — followed by 22 flights from Russian-operated launch pads and 21 satellite delivery missions originating from U.S. spaceports, all of which were successful.

Russia retires Rockot launcher after liftoff with four satellites

December 27, 2019

The final flight of Russia’s Rockot launcher took off Thursday and placed four satellites into orbit nearly 1,000 miles above Earth, ending a run of 31 launches since May 2000.