Russia – Page 5 – Spaceflight Now

Russia’s Angara A5 rocket successful in second test flight

December 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

Six years after launching for the first time, a Russian Angara A5 heavy-lift rocket took off on its second test flight Monday and successfully delivered a dummy payload into orbit.

Soyuz rocket lifts off from Plesetsk with Russian relay satellites

December 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Three Russian Gonets communications satellites launched late Wednesday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, riding a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage into orbit on the second successful Soyuz mission in less than 24 hours.

Soyuz rocket launches Emirati military satellite after lengthy delay

December 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

After months of delays caused by launch vehicle issues and the coronavirus pandemic, a Russian Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage took off from South America and delivered the French-built Falcon Eye 2 military observation satellite to an on-target orbit Tuesday night for the United Arab Emirates.

Live coverage: Soyuz launches Falcon Eye 2 satellite on third attempt

November 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket carrying a military spy satellite for the United Arab Emirates lifted off from French Guiana at 8:33 p.m. EST Tuesday (0133 GMT Wednesday). A launch attempt Sunday night was scrubbed due to the risk of lightning, and a countdown Monday was called off due to a telemetry issue associated with the range safety system at the Guiana Space Center.

Soyuz rocket ready to launch with UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 military satellite

November 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz booster is set for launch from French Guiana Sunday night with a European-built military reconnaissance satellite for the United Arab Emirates, the twin of a UAE surveillance craft lost in a rocket failure last year.

Spacewalkers prep for arrival of new Russian module

November 18, 2020 William Harwood

Two Russian cosmonauts used the International Space Station’s Poisk docking compartment as an airlock for the first time Wednesday in a six-hour 48-minute spacewalk to begin preparing the nearly identical Pirs module for removal next year. A new laboratory module will be parked in its place later.

NASA officials hope to fly Russian cosmonaut on Crew Dragon next year

November 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA has submitted a draft agreement for government approval that would allow Russian cosmonauts to begin flying to the International Space Station on U.S. crew capsules next year in a no-funds exchanged arrangement with Russia’s space agency. In return, Russia will continue launching U.S. and international astronauts on Soyuz missions.

International Space Station offers ‘blueprint’ for exploration, first crew says

November 1, 2020 Stephen Clark

Bill Shepherd, a former Navy SEAL-turned astronaut who arrived at the International Space Station 20 years ago Monday to begin the continuous occupancy of the orbiting research outpost, says the experience gained by NASA and its global partners over the last two decades provides a blueprint for missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

Russia launches Glonass navigation satellite

October 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz booster and Fregat upper stage successfully delivered an upgraded Russian Glonass navigation satellite to an orbit nearly 12,000 miles above Earth on Saturday.

Soyuz brings three space station fliers back to Earth

October 22, 2020 William Harwood

One week after two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut arrived at the International Space Station, the three crew members they’re replacing strapped into their own Soyuz spacecraft, undocked and returned to Earth Wednesday with a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 196-day mission.