News Roscosmos News

[Orbinaut Pete]

Roscosmos PAO: "Russian Soyuzes to be GLONASS'ed".

GLONASS/GPS navigation equipment will be installed on Russian crew vehicles Soyuz in 2012, Interfax informs.
The first GLONASS’ed Soyuz TMA-05M will fly in 2012. Navigation equipment will be located on the Soyuz descent capsule, with the aim to use it for defining landing coordinates.
The coordinates are further to be relayed for the MCC and rescue teams via KOSPAS-SARSAT, providing the opportunity to define landing spot and maintain crew rescue promptly.
Navigation equipment will be also introduced in the Soyuz GNC system in three years. This will help defining Soyuz orbital parameters and avoid using ground stations.

 

[orb]

RIA Novosti:
Russia to conduct half of carrier rocket launches from Far East by 2020

Russia intends to carry out up to 45 percent of its carrier rocket launches from the Vostochny Space Center, under construction in the Far East, by 2020, the deputy head of Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.

The space center, intended as a "new stage in the development of Russian cosmonautics," will host almost 1,500 facilities, including two launch systems, a training center, and oxygen and hydrogen generation plants, Viktor Remishevsky said during a round table in the Far Eastern Amur Region.

"A new, modern town, comfortable in every respect and intended for specialists in the space sphere and their families will be created here," Remishevsky said.

The new space center is being created using the most advanced technologies, which minimize environmental damage, said the chief designer of a company involved in the construction of the space center.

Russia currently uses two launch sites: the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, which it has leased since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the Plesetsk space center in northwest Russia.

The new space center, which will employ 20,000-25,000 people, will ensure Russia's independence in the launch of piloted space vehicles, currently carried out at Baikonur.

The Russian government intends to spend 24.7 billion rubles (around $811,000) on the construction of the space center, which is expected to start in 2011.

Vostochny is expected to be put into operation in 2015 and be used for launching cargo spacecraft and satellites at the first stage. Manned spacecraft will be launched from the space center starting 2018.

VLADIVOSTOK, November 13 (RIA Novosti)

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Six new Cosmonauts began training at the GCTC in Star City last Monday!

 

[Suzy]

Six new Cosmonauts began training at the GCTC in Star City last Monday!

No women, though

 

[Wishbone]

Aren't women astronauts more prone to radiation induced neoplasms? (even below the first belt)

 

[SiberianTiger]

No women, though

To avoid repeating myself, here's a link to my post @ nasaspaceflight.com where I expressed my thoughts on why there's a shortage of Russian female Cosmonauts: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=23202.msg659779#msg659779

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

More cosmonaut news:

Roscosmos PAO: "United Cosmonaut Corps to be Established in Russia this Year".

Three cosmonaut corps of Russia will be united in a single one under Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center by the end of 2010, GCTC Chief Sergey Krikalev told Interfax-AVN.
According to him, the decision has been made already; only formalities are remaining to finalize the process.
Currently, there are three corps in Russia: GCTC’s with 22 cosmonauts, RSC-Energia’s with 17 cosmonauts, and IBMP’s with one cosmonaut.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Roscosmos PAO: "Soyuz and Progress Space Vehicles to be Modified in 2-3 Years".

Soyuz and Progress space vehicles are to be modified in 2-3 years, Interfax-AVN quotes TSNIIMash official Vladimir Matveev.
According to the scientist, new systems will be introduced on the vehicles. These include RF control and communication system, satellite navigation equipment, Kurs rendezvous monitoring system updates.

 

[SiberianTiger]

I leave it up to your judgment to decide how close to truth this news message is.

http://gazeta.ru/news/lenta/2010/12/09/n_1608653.shtml

— 09.12.2010 14:37 —

Roscosmos may face staff replacement following the GLONASS sats launch failure.


Interfax: As an informed source told us, the failed launch of December 5, which costed Russia loss of three GLONASS-M satellites, which impacted Earth in vicinity of Hawaii islands, may be followed by dismissal of administration of Roscosmos.

"The last accident with loss of three GLONASS satellites shall hardly be left without incurring personal penalties against top administrators. They may follow after representatives of General Prosecutor office finish their checking of Roscosmos, and enterprises connected to GLONASS programme by direction of President" - said the anonymous source.

According to the person, "There are several expectants to assume the position of Russian Space Agency's Head. The most expected people are First Deputy of Minister of Defence Vladimir Popovkin who has a record of leading Russian Space Force and President of RKK Energia Vitaliy Lopota."

Interfax does not have official confirmation of any of the quoted information yet.

Vladimir Popovkin:

Vilaliy Lopota:

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Roscosmos PAO: "Roscosmos Head Signs the Order to Establish United Cosmonaut Corps".

Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov signed the Order "About Establishment of Roscosmos' United Cosmonaut Corps" of Dec. 7, 2010.
The order defines completion of Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps establishment in GCTC by Jan. 1, 2011.
The Corps is to unite cosmonauts of three groups - GCTC, RSC-Energia and IBMP – in a single infrastructure in order to "enhance cosmonaut selection and training effectiveness and to maintain coordinated national policy in human space missions".

 

[SiberianTiger]

Two of the three Russian launches that was due to commenced this year, are rescheduled for 2011.

Meteosat Elektro-L #1 atop Zenit-SBLF/Fregat-SB (was to be launched on Dec, 25) is now postponed till January 15-20, 2011.

The reason quoted:

Fregat-SB is a brand new upper stage and a decision was taken to perform complete review of its operating procedures and documentation before commencing a launch. The decision was triggered by the recent disaster with Block DM-03 upper stage which was incorrectly tanked resulting in diverting a Proton-M launch vehicle off course and crash.

New Generation GLONASS system spacecraft GLONASS-K atop Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat (was to be launched on Dec 28) will fly at yet unspecified date in 2011.

The reason quoted (same source):

State Committee which decides on space launch readiness prohibited this launch until issues with insufficient ground support infrastructure readiness level is reached and the spacecraft itself undergoes a more complete test curriculum at the manufacturer's facilities.

At the same time, preparations for launch of Eutelsat's KA-SAT atop Proton-M/Briz-M are going ahead with possible target launch days on December 27 or 28, 2010.

 

[orb]

Roscosmos:
Russia Allocates $3.8 bln for Space Programs in 2011
:: 12.01.2011

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the government will spend 115 billion rubles ($3.8 bln) on national space programs in 2011.

Russia celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight, by Yury Gagarin, this year, RIA Novosti informs.

"We will allocate 115 bln rubles from the federal budget in 2011 on national space programs," Putin said at a meeting with space officials.

The prime minister said that in 2011 Russia planned to launch about 50 spacecraft and adopt a federal program for the development of the Glonass satellite navigation system until 2020.

Russia intended to conclude the forming of its Glonass system, a project similar to GPS in the United States, last year, but a Proton-M carrier rocket carrying three Glonass satellites veered off course and sunk in the Pacific Ocean on December 5.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the next launch of a Proton rocket carrying another three Glonass satellites could be conducted sometime in August. The rocket will be equipped with a different type of booster.

In the long run, Russia plans to increase its share in the global space market by designing new models of unmanned and manned spacecraft, participating in a large number of international space projects and building a new space center.
________________________________________

Roscosmos:
Yury Gagarin Space Vehicle to Leave for ISS on March 30
:: 12.01.2011

The Soyuz spacecraft which is to fly to the International Space Station on March 30 will be named after the first man in space Yury Gagarin, head of the Russian Space Agency Anatoly Perminov said Tuesday when meeting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

This year many different events will be held marking the 50th anniversary of the first space flight, The Voice of Russia informs.
The Russian Space Agency has invited heads of 49 space agencies, as well astronauts, who took part in space expeditions on Soviet and Russian spacecraft, to attend the celebration in Moscow on April 12.

 

[orb]

Central Asia Newswire: Russia has good reason to stay at Baikonur:

{...}

Because Russia rents Baikonur from Kazakhstan, and because Russia cannot use Baikonur for sensitive, secret military launches, the Russians constructed a second and more modern cosmodrome at Plesetsknearly 500 miles north of Moscow. And it is building a new one at Vostochny in the Amur River region close to China and the Pacific Coast.

However, the head of Russia's Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, made clear at a press conference on Monday that his government was determined to stay in Baikonur "forever."

Roscosmos chief Anatoly Perminov said his country was determined to keep operating at Baikonur even after Vostochny begins space flight operations later this year.

"We will not abandon Baikonur till the end of times," Perminov said.

Perminov also said that eventually Roscosmos would only use Baikonur for its commercial satellite business. "(Eventually) space cooperation with Kazakhstan would be gradually switched to the entirely commercial tracks," he said, according China's official Xinhua news agency.

{...}

 

[GoForPDI]

''Vostochny begins space flight operations later this year''

Why can't reporters get their facts straight when reporting on space matters?

Any word on how the NPK, Angara and Rus-M programmes are getting along?

 

[orb]

Any word on how the NPK, Angara and Rus-M programmes are getting along?

NPK? I'm not familiar with this one.

Latest reports regarding Angara and Rus-M:

Roscosmos:

• 2011-01-17: Polyot of Omsk Completes Preparation for Angara’s Module Serial Production
• 2011-02-01: Angara to be Built in Omsk Region

RIA Novosti:

• 2011-01-27: Russia's Angara booster rocket to be 'ready for tests' in 2012

Parabolic Arc:

• 2011-01-25: Russia to Spend $6 Billion on New Spaceport, Rocket and Human Spacecraft

  {...}
  
  Perminov said that the new Rus-M rocket being developed by TsSKB Progress will be capable of launching up to 24 metric tons into orbit. The new rocket will be tested in 2015, with human launches of a new six-person spacecraft being built by RSC Energia planned to begin in 2018. Designs for the new rocket and spacecraft were drawn up last year.
  
  “The total cost of building a promising manned transport system, a new space rocket complex, Rus-M, the ground processing facility will be about 180 billion rubles by 2015,” he said.
  
  {...}

• 2011-01-27: Russia Plans Angara Launches in 2012, Works on Answer to X-37:

  {...}
  
  The long-delayed Angara rocket will be ready for testing next year. “We plan that it will be fully prepared for launch in 2012. Everything is going according to plan,” said Space Troops chief Oleg Ostapenko.
  
  {...}
  
  Ostapenko also told reporters that Russia is developing a spacecraft similar to the U.S. X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle that flew last year.
  
  {...}

• 2011-01-31: Russia Plans Ambitious Year in Space:

  {...}
  
  Russia is continuing to make progress on rocket development. The Soyuz booster is set to make its debut at the European spaceport at Kourou later this year. The Russians are also working on two new rockets, Rus-M and Angara, that will be used for civilian and military payloads, respectively. Angara is set for its first test launch in 2012; Rus-M will fly in the middle of the decade.
  
  {...}

 

[GoForPDI]

Thanks alot!

NPK... what the hell am I talking about? I meant the PTK NP, the new Spacecraft.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Because Russia rents Baikonur from Kazakhstan, and because Russia cannot use Baikonur for sensitive, secret military launches, the Russians constructed a second and more modern cosmodrome at Plesetsk nearly 500 miles north of Moscow.

Plesetsk ("object Angara") was constructed back in 1957 for a simple reason to have operational R7 launch complexes positioned such that USA mainland would be within R7's operating range with nuclear warhead attached. In other words, it was the first ICBM base ever. These pads have quickly lost their military value, but seen most intense use ever since. Nothing is related to Kazakhstan here.

 

[Urwumpe]

Plesetsk is especially important, because it permits polar orbits as ONLY Russian spaceport. And still, it can only permit sunsync orbits with a dog-leg maneuver to prevent flying over Norway.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Plesetsk is especially important, because it permits polar orbits as ONLY Russian spaceport. And still, it can only permit sunsync orbits with a dog-leg maneuver to prevent flying over Norway.

Probably, technical complexity of that is why all Russian SSO launches were made off Baikonur prior to 2000.

 

[Urwumpe]

Probably, technical complexity of that is why all Russian SSO launches were made off Baikonur prior to 2000.

Not sure on that one - I don't know any SSO launch azimuth that was cleared for Baikonur, at least for R-7 family launches. I know that the Dnepr must launch to SSO orbits, because the German Earth Monitoring/Radar recon satellites are launched from Baikonur by Dnepr AFTER 2005.