Tag: Roscosmos

Russian space boss warns ISS equipment beyond warranty

MOSCOW, Oct 27, 2023 (AFP) – Moscow’s Roscosmos space chief warned Friday that most Russian equipment on the International Space Station (ISS) was beyond its warranty, weeks after the station’s Russian segment sprang another coolant leak. The leak, Russia’s third in less than a year, raised new questions about the reliability of the country’s space programme, even as officials said crew members were not in danger. “The International Space Station is approaching the finish line […]

NASA insists space station unaffected by Russian war

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – NASA on Monday insisted tensions linked to the war in Ukraine had no impact on International Space Station operations or the planned return of an American astronaut aboard a Russian capsule later this month. Mark Vande Hei is due to fly to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov on March 30 after 355 days in space, a new […]

Russia to prioritise making military satellites

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said Thursday it will be changing its programme to prioritise making satellites for military purposes as Moscow becomes increasingly isolated following its invasion of Ukraine. “Our space programme, of course, will be adjusted. Firstly, priorities will be set,” Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with Russian state TV. “The priority here is the creation of spacecraft in the interests of both Roscosmos and Russia’s defence […]

Russian rocket launches 34 new UK satellites

A Russian Soyuz rocket has blasted into space carrying 34 new satellites from British operator Oneweb, which aims to provide broadband internet everywhere in the world. The rocket operated by Europe’s Arianespace took off successfully at 2213 GMT Saturday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Roscosmos space agency said in a statement. It was the fifth launch of OneWeb satellites this year, with the last one on July 1. OneWeb is working to complete […]

Russia plans rocket tests, lunar programme resumption

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Sunday put a brave face on the loss of its space travel monopoly, saying it planned to test two new rockets this year and resume its lunar programme in 2021. The comments from the Russian space agency Roscosmoc came after US entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX became the world’s first commercial company to put humans into orbit, signalling the dawn of a new era. Russia had for many years enjoyed […]

First man to perform spacewalk dies

by Marina LAPENKOVA Agence France-Presse RUSSIA, Moscow (AFP) — Alexei Leonov, a legendary Soviet cosmonaut who was the first man to perform a spacewalk in 1965, died in Moscow on Friday aged 85 after a long illness. The Russian space agency Roscosmos said it was saddened to announce the death of “cosmonaut No 11” who was twice decorated with the country’s top honour, the Hero of the Soviet Union. Tributes poured in from across the […]

UPDATE: Russia loses contact with Angolan satellite

by Olga Rotenberg and Anna Smolchenko Agence France-Presse moscow, Russia (AFP) — Russia has lost contact with Angola’s first national telecoms satellite launched from the Baikonur space pad, its maker said Wednesday — a fresh embarrassment for Moscow’s once proud space industry. The incident involving the Russian-made Angosat-1 followed a similar one in November when Russia lost contact with a weather satellite launched from a new cosmodrome in the country’s far east. Energia, Russia’s top […]

Russia loses contact with Angolan satellite — space industry source

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia has lost contact with Angosat-1, the first national telecoms satellite for Angola launched from its Baikonur space pad, a source in the space industry told AFP on Wednesday. “Contact has temporarily been lost,” the source told AFP by telephone, adding specialists were now looking into the matter. © Agence France-Presse

Russia launches telecoms satellite for Angola

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday launched a rocket carrying Angosat-1, the first national telecoms satellite for Angola, from its Baikonur space pad, with rare use of a rocket from Ukraine despite collapsed ties between the two nations. Live footage aired by Roscosmos space corporation showed the spacecraft take off into the night from the freezing launch pad in Kazakhstan. It reached initial orbit shortly after. The Zenit-2SB rocket carrying Angosat to orbit was […]

Russian space agency blames satellite loss on programming error

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s space agency on Tuesday blamed a failed satellite launch from its new cosmodrome on a programming error, prompting an angry response from the deputy prime minister in charge of space. On November 28 Russia lost contact with its Meteor-M weather satellite after its launch from the new Vostochny cosmodrome — only the second such launch since the facility opened in the country’s far east last year. The failure “exposed a […]