News

Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin held traditional Pre-New Year meetings with the heads of rocket and space industry enterprises, and summed up the results of the year.

In 2019, Roscosmos continued realization of the plans and tasks according to the base documents and contracts.

According to the flight program of the International Space Station, on the morning of December 27, 2019 two scheduled orbit corrections were conducted.

Light class Rokot carrier rocket launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome on December 27, 2019, successfully put the Gonets-M spacecraft into target orbit. This launch concludes the operation of this type of carrier rocket.

On December 26, 1974 the Proton-K heavy launch vehicle was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome under the flight design test program of the second Soviet civil long-term orbital station Salyut-4 developed by TsKBEM near Moscow (now RSC Energia). The launch vehicle successfully injected a 18.5-ton space laboratory into near-earth orbit to operate both in the automatic and manned modes.

Roscosmos Russian Earth’s remote sensing means operator continues monitoring the emergencies via the Russian orbit group.

Starting from December 12, 2019, Russian Spektr-RG orbital observatory commenced scanning the sky of stars. The unique x-ray mirror telescopes ART-XC and eROSITA installed onboard the observatory have already performed a number of interesting observations of the selected areas of the sky and x-ray sources during the adjustment processes.

A special train carrying three Soyuz-2.1b carrier rockets’ stages as well as two payload fairings arrived to Ledyanaya station nearby the Vostochny Cosmodrome on December 25, 2019. Vostochny Space Center specialists (a TsENKI subsidiary, part of Roscosmos) met the train, after that it was taken to the Unified Technical Complex depot where workplaces to receive the launching equipment were had been created.

On December 25, 2019 TsENKI (part of Roscosmos) and contractor organizations finished assembly of large-sized storage tanks for oxygen and nitrogen.

On December 24, 2019, a launch vehicle Proton-M with upper stage Block DM-03 developed and built by RSC Energia and spacecraft Elektro-L was launched from Baikonur cosmodrome. +6 hours 37 minutes after the lift-off, the satellite successfully separated from the upper stage and entered the geostationary orbit, from where it will then transit to its orbital slot at 165.8°E.Specialists of the Lead Operations Control Team proceeded to the on-orbit flight tests of the spacecraft.

On December 24, 2019, at 12:03:02 UTC, a Proton-M carrier rocket with DM-03 booster and Elektro-L No. 3 satellite onboard launched from the launchpad No. 81. All the flight stages went as expected.

Today, December 24, Hero of the Russian Federation, pilot-cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka is fifty years of age. Oleg Ivanovich celebrates his jubilee onboard the Russian Segment of the International Space Station. This is his third space flight.

The State Commission meeting took place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome reviewing the final test results of the Proton-M carrier rocket launch complex to inject the Elektro-L No. 3 meteorological satellite according to Russia’s Federal Space Program.

On December 18 2019, an off-nominal situation was registered with the Meteor-M No. 2-2 spacecraft related to an external input (purportedly, a micrometeorite) on its structure. As a result, the satellite changed its orbit parameters and entered disoriented flight mode with high angular speeds.

TsENKI Vostochny Space Center branch (part of Roscosmos) specialists received and unloaded the fourth, fifth and sixth levels of the gantry. Seven low-bed trailers were used to transport the components to the Amur Oblast. The first and third levels were delivered in October; the rest parts will be delivered by the end of 2021.

Preparations to launch Proton-M carrier rocket with the DM-03 booster and Elektro-L No.3 Russian meteorological satellite continue at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch is scheduled for December 24, 2019, at 12:03 UTC.

On December 20, 2019, Khrunichev Center hosted the final Roscosmos Community Council offsite meeting.

On 19 December 2019, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus hosted a meeting of the joint Russo-Belarussian workgroup to prepare draft concepts according to the list of perspective programs of the Union State and developing cooperation between Roscosmos enterprises and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The meeting was held under chairmanship of Roscosmos Strategic Planning Department Yuri Makarov and National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Office Head Petr Vityaz.

A series of ground-based tests designed to check the extraction of the ExoMars 2020 mission’s parachutes from their bags have started successfully with promising results to keep the mission on track for next year’s launch.

Roscosmos Russian Earth’s remote sensing means operator continues monitoring the emergencies via the Russian orbit group.

The All-Russian High Energy Astrophysics conference kicked off at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This year the conference is dedicated to the Spektr-RG Russian orbital observatory designed by Lavochkin NPO (part of Roscosmos) and successfully launched on July 13, 2019.

On December 18, 2019, at 08:54:20 UTC a Soyuz-ST-A carrier rocket equipped with a Fregat-M booster and five spacecraft onboard successfully launched from the Guiana Space Center. The launch and the flight went as expected.

On December 18, 2019, at 08:54 UTC, a Soyuz-ST-A carrier rocket equipped with a Fregat-M booster and European COSMO-SG and CHEOPS spacecraft onboard together with three commercial satellites successfully launched from the Guiana Space Center.

On December 18, 2019, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut of USSRб representative of the first “Gagarin’s” draft to the cosmonaut team Boris Volynov, a truly legendary person is celebrating his 85th birthday. He started his training for spaceflights together with Yuri Gagarin, German Titov, Georgy Shonin and other pioneers. Boris Volynov himself is a participant of the first ever docking of two crewed spacecraft. Boris Volynov was an active member of the cosmonaut team for 30 years making it the longest time in the team among his compatriots.

During the final operations prior to the Soyuz-ST-A carrier rocket launch with commercial spacecraft onboard, the automatics discovered a malfunction in the control system.

On December 15, 2019, a train carrying Khrunichev Center launch vehicle according to the Ekspress spacecraft launch program.

The first batch of satellites of the British company OneWeb arrived on Monday on the An-124-100 aircraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft will be prepared at the spaceport for launch, scheduled for January 30, 2020.

On December 16, 1979 the Soyuz-U launch vehicle with the Soyuz T unmanned spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome under the program for the final phase of flight development test (FDT) of a new three-seat modification of manned transport spacecraft. The specialized Soyuz T spacecraft has been developed by NPO Energia since 1976 to deliver crews to long-term orbital stations of the Salyut type using a modernized rendezvous and berthing radio complex, improved onboard computers, reconstructed life-support equipment and other spacecraft system.

Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin paid a working visit to Vostochny cosmodrome inspecting the Angara family carrier rocket launching complex construction site.

On December 15, 2019, in accordance with the schedule approved by Roscosmos, the technological equipment installation process commenced at the Angara carrier rocket launching complex at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Large-sized storage tanks for oxygen and nitrogen were transported from the storage site to the construction site with the specialists of TsENKI and other contractors starting the assembly process.

The Soyuz-ST-A carrier rocket with Fregat-M booster installed and commercial spacecraft onboard was rolled out onto the launchpad at Guiana Space Center.

Roscosmos representatives headed by Director General Dmitry Rogozin held bilateral negotiations with the Hungarian delegation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Sijarto with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary to Russia Norbert Konkoly taking part.

The mobile complex to fuel low-pressure tanks of the Briz-M booster are being tested now at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The complex was designed by the Design Bureau of Transport-Chemical Machine Building (A TsENKI subsidiary, both being part of Roscosmos). The new complex includes five units.

On December 11, 2019, a meeting of Russian Academy of Sciences’ Council on Space took place dedicated to the scientific research of the Earth from space using Russia’s Earth’s remote systems.

On December 11 Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Roscosmos State Corporation Roscosmos, made a working visit to S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (a part of State Corporation Roscosmos).

On December 11, 2019, at 08:54 UTC a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket equipped with a Fregat booster manufactured by NPO Lavochkin (part of Roscosmos) launched successfully from Plesetsk cosmodrome carrying a Glonass-M navigational satellite manufactured by ISS Reshetnev company.

The second provisional crew including test cosmonauts Mukhtar Aymakhanov (commander), Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina. The crew abandoned the descent vehicle simulator at dusk, with tight schedule to build a shelter for overnight and stock up firewood. The test cosmonauts quickly solved the task and were on duty during the night one by one to communicate with the search and rescue teams and swiftly react to any unexpected event.

Spektr-RG orbital x-ray observatory launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 13, 2019 starts observing the sky of stars.

Is it possible to discover a new island on Earth, which has been studied thoroughly? Schoolchildren Pavel Mikhailov and Nikita Ilyin from Chuvash Republic discovered a new island while studying geographical maps and comparing them with Earth’s remote sensing data collected for the last 10 years. As a result, they found a new arctic island by one of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago capes, after a melting glacier receded. The newly discovered island is 110 hectares in area with its narrowest part is 20 meters and widest is 108 meters.

On December 7, 2019, Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo) training sailing vessels Sedov and Kruzenshtern set off from the port of Kaliningrad for the overseas expedition marking the 200th anniversary of discovering the Antarctic by the Russian sailors and the 75th anniversary of the Victory over fascism.

On December 6, 6 the representatives of the Orbital Sciences Corporation (USA) signed the forms to receive another batch of four RD-181 rocket engines.

Russian Space Systems holding (RSS, part of Roscosmos) has completed the development and went on to manufacture a unique Earth’s remote sensing system – a high-definition infrared radiometer for Nauka multipurpose lab module of the Russian International Space Station segment. The instrument is to enhance the monitoring effectiveness and forecast of natural and manmade disasters, as well as solving a number of other tasks.

On December 7, 2019, the State Commission on flight tests meeting took place considering the conclusion of Meteor-3M space complex flight tests with the Meteor-M No. 2-2 spacecraft.

On December 9, 2019, at 10:35 UTC the Progress MS-13 cargo vehicle successfully docked to the Pirs docking module of the International Space Station.

On December 6, 2019, the Proton-M rocket units were sent off from Khrunichev Center according to the Russian Ekspress spacecraft launch program.

On December 6, 2019, at 09:34:11 UTC the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-13 cargo spacecraft launched from launchpad No. 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Antennas and solar batteries panels’ extension went routinely.

TsNIIMash Mission Control Center has completed the planned activities to prepare for the Progress MS-13 cargo vehicle flight. The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 6, 2019, at 09:34:11 UTC.

On November 2019 the specialists of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the NPO Lavochkin (part of Roscosmos) finished the work to pack the scientific instruments complex for the ExoMars-2020 spacecraft landing platform.

NPO Energomash held a scheduled meeting Coordination council on quality of the rocket engine manufacturing integrated structure. The meeting was held as a videoconference presided by NPO Energomash Deputy Director General – Director on Quality Vasily Marfin.

Kazakhstan steppe is a routine landing area for the Soyuz spacecraft descent module. Sometimes, the spacecraft lands not in the designated area – even a minor fault can lead to a landing many kilometers away from the target point.

Khrunichev Center held a coordination meeting with the representatives of the Chinese research institutes to discuss the perspectives to launch smaller spacecraft using Russian launch vehicles.

Zvyozdny gorodok welcomed the ISS-59/60 long-term mission and 19th visiting mission to the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft commander Alexey Ovchinin, flight engineer Nick Hague and United Arab Emirates astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri, as well as Roscosmos, Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC), rocket and space industry enterprises’ management, as well as foreign space agencies’ representatives and other honored guests lay flowers to the monument to Yuri Gagarin.

OJSC Uralcryomash (part of Uralvagonzavod under Rostec corporation) sends another portion of equipment to the Vostochny Cosmodrome for the second construction phase meant for Angara-A5 space rocket complex. These are water supply system to cool down the carrier rocket launch pad.

The commemoration event took place at Roscosmos in Moscow with opening the monument to mark the successful emergency egress for the Soyuz MS-10 crewed spacecraft during the October 11, 2018 launch.

The final processing of cargo transport vehicle Progress МS-13 under the program of the 74P logistics mission to the International Space Station (ISS) are in good progress at Baikonur launch site.