Posted on February 23, 2014, at 5:24 pm .
Sea Launch Zenit booster
UPDATE: Sea Launch President Kjell Karlsen has resigned “to pursue other opportunities outside space industry. After his departure, the Company’s senior executive team will carry out Mr. Karlsen’s former duties and responsibilities. Mr. Karlsen has been with Sea Launch since 1999, serving as the President since 2008 and member of its Board of Directors since 2010.”
Space News reports the Russian government is mulling a takeover of the troubled Sea Launch company.
Moscow has asked the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, and Russian manufacturer RSC Energia, which holds 95 percent of Swiss-registered Sea Launch, to submit an overview of the financial situation of the maritime launch services company, Rogozin said in remarks posted on the Russian Cabinet website. The Russian government holds 38 percent of Energia, which supplies the upper stage of the Sea Launch rocket.
Should the government go forward with the deal, it likely would move the oceangoing rocket pad and command ship from Long Beach, Calif., to a Russian port on the Pacific Ocean, Rogozin said. “Something tells me that if we go for it, then the base will definitely be outside the United States,” he said.
The government could potentially use the company to carry out some of the federal launch contracts and would not be inclined to ship sensitive spacecraft to the Unites States to undergo preparation for launch, Rogozin said.
Continue reading ‘Russian Government Mulls Takeover of Troubled Sea Launch as Company President Resigns’
Posted on January 6, 2014, at 5:57 am .
Expedition 37 takes off for the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Russia once again led the world in orbital launches in 2013, keeping the International Space Station supplied with a study stream of crew members and cargo while earning hard currency with commercial satellite launches.
Although the vast majority of Russia’s launches were successful, the spectacular failure in July of a Proton rocket — which nosedived into the ground shortly after liftoff — accelerated efforts to reform the nation’s failure-prone space program. By the end of the year, the Russian space agency Roscosmos had a new leader and a major effort was underway to consolidate a large part of the bloated and inefficient space sector under a single government-owned company.
During 2013, Russia introduced a new variant of its venerable Soyuz rocket while also making progress on constructing a new spaceport in the Far East and developing a larger human spacecraft to replace the Soyuz transport and a heavy-lift booster to facilitate deep space exploration.
Continue reading ‘Russia 2013 Space Year in Review’
Posted on January 5, 2014, at 5:25 am .
Zenit launch from Baikonur
Ukraine had a mixed record in space in 2013. While the Dnepr rocket returned to service with a pair of successful launches after a two-year gap, one of two Zenit boosters ended up in a watery grave after it failed shortly after launch.
Ukrainian companies had better luck as a components supplier. Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares — which boasts a Ukrainian-supplied first stage — racked up two flawless flights. Meanwhile, the European Vega booster made a second successful flight with a Ukrainian fourth stage on board.
Meanwhile, a joint partnership with Brazil to launch the Cylcone-4 rocket from South America made progress even as it suffered additional schedule delays that have pushed back the maiden flight into 2015.
Continue reading ‘Ukraine’s 2013 Year in Space Review’
Posted on December 7, 2013, at 6:04 am .
Space News has an extensive Q&A with Yuriy Boyko, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for Ecology, Natural Resources, Energy and Space. The interview primarily focuses on the nation’s space program, its joint Cyclone 4 launch vehicle program with Brazil, and its efforts to increase cooperation with the United States and China.
Some of the highlights:
- Ukraine’s main launch vehicles include Zenit (Sea Launch, Land Launch), Dnepr (joint program with Russia), Cyclone 4 (joint program with Brazil), and the first stage structure for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares.
- Ukraine spends between $400 million and $500 million on its space program mostly for science work, but receives about $600 million annually in revenues from commercial work;
- Brazil and Ukraine have committed $1.5 million (split equally) over a three-year period to Cyclone 4, which should have its first test flight from the Alcantara Launch Center by early 2015;
- The partners hope that South American countries with satellite programs will flock to the Alcantara facility on Brazil’s Atlantic coast;
- The upper stage developed for the Cyclone 4 could be a good fit for the Antares rocket;
- Boyko recently completed consultations with NASA and U.S. commercial space companies concerning cooperative programs, with the two governments establishing a framework for further cooperation;
- There are no specific cooperative programs to announce yet between Ukraine and American government and private entities;
- Ukraine would like to become involved in the International Space Station program;
- Boyko says that Ukrainian specialists have extensive experience with radiation shielding technology, which could help the United States with human Mars and deep space missions;
- Ukraine is consulting with China, which is very interested in developing large propulsion systems.
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Posted on September 3, 2013, at 12:23 pm .
Land Launch Zenit booster
The problem-plagued Zenit launch vehicle returned to flight on Saturday with the successful launch of the Israeli Amos-4 communications satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The 3.5-ton satellite, which was built by Israel Aerospace Industries for Israeli operator Spacecom, will deliver Ka- and Ka-band communications to the portions of the Middle East, Russia and south and east Asia.
This is the first successful flight of the rocket since the failure of a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL on Feb. 1. The launch vehicle crashed into the Pacific Ocean shortly after take-off when its first stage failed, taking the Intelsat 27 satellite down with it.
The Zenit launch vehicle, which has a success rate of just over 85 percent, was originally intended for multiple uses. Four Zenits were attached to the core of the giant Energia launch system designed to lift the Buran space shuttle into orbit. Zenits were also designed to fly separately as a replacement for the Soyuz booster for manned flights and as a satellite launcher.
Continue reading ‘Failure Prone Zenit Launch Vehicle Successfully Returns to Flight’
Posted on March 6, 2012, at 5:40 am .
UKRAINE SPACE AGENCY PR – On January 27, 2011 at Ukrinform, the President of Ukraine HCA YSА Alexeyev held a press conference on the results of the space industry in 2011. Alexeyev said that last year the enterprises of the industry produced and sold products worth almost 3.4 billion UAH., Which is about 1.6 times more than in 2010. In general, the industry completed in 2011 with a net profit amounting to UAH 76.7 million.
Among the major achievements of President of Ukraine HCA said the successful August 17, 2011 launch of domestic spacecraft remote sensing, “Sich-2″ on the “Dnepr”. At the present time has received more than 600 pictures of Earth’s surface.On this basis, the HCA Ukrainian specialists performed the first case the task of monitoring the clearing of forests, monitoring of germination of winter crops in different regions of Ukraine and monitoring of emergency situations.
Continue reading ‘Ukraine Sees Uptick in Space Sales as Sea Launch Returns to Flight’
Posted on February 24, 2011, at 9:52 am .
KAZCOSMOS PAO – On 16-18 February 2011, a Kazakh delegation headed by Chairman Kazkosmos T. Musabaev held talks with representatives of Roscosmos in Moscow. Participants discussed the prospects of Kazakhstan’s participation in the “Land Launch” project and the establishment of the “Baiterek” launch complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Continue reading ‘Russians, Kazakhs Move Forward on Land Lanch, Angara Complex’
Posted on January 23, 2011, at 6:34 am .
The National Space Agency of Ukraine has posted an interesting Q&A with Chairman Yuri Alekseyev in which he discusses his organization’s key role in supplying rockets and space technologies worldwide. Ukraine inherited a great deal of Soviet space capability after that nation broke up, and it has maintained and expanded it despite periods of severe economic chaos. Ukraine’s rockets include the Zenit, Dnepr (Dnipro), and Cyclone-4.
Among the topics Alekseyev discussed include an increased role in Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Taurus II program and a joint venture to launch Cyclone-4 rockets from Brazil beginning in 2012.
Continue reading ‘Ukrainians Working on Taurus II Second Stage Propulsion’
Posted on April 28, 2008, at 10:03 pm .
An Indian PSLV rocket launched 10 – count ‘em 10 – satellites into orbit on Monday. The cargo included the Cartosat-2A remote sensing satellite, an Indian mini-sat, and eight foreign nano-sats. The Times of India has details. 
Meanwhile, the folks at Sea Launch are celebrating their first successful takeoff from terra firma. A Land Launch Zenit-3SLB blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday carrying an Israeli communications satellite. The company is a joint venture between Sea Launch and Russia’s Space International Services. More details here.
In other news, the ever reliable Soyuz rocket orbited the second demonstration satellite for Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system on Sunday. And a Chinese Long March rocket launched a data relay satellite on Friday that will support China’s human spaceflight program.
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