Posted on June 16, 2013, at 10:36 am .
Selected crew members for the one-year mission aboard the International Space Station, U.S. Astronaut Scott Kelly (pictured left) and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (pictured right). (Credit: NASA)
NASA PR — Scientists, engineers, educators, physicians and space explorers from around the world convened in May at Rice University in Houston at the annual International Space Medicine Summit. This summit provided an opportunity for space professionals in the international community to identify space medicine research goals and national policies that foster collaboration, communication and cooperation between spacefaring nations. This year’s summit occurred at an ideal time, as the International Space Station partnership moves forward with its plan to put an American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut in space for an entire year.
Between 1987 and 1995, four Russian cosmonauts spent a year or more consecutively in space. Now, for the first time, an American astronaut, Scott Kelly, will be joining that exclusive club, as he and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko inhabit the space station for an entire year beginning in 2015. These two explorers will live on the space station for twice as long as a typical space station crew member. Researchers expect the one-year mission to yield beneficial knowledge on the medical, psychological and biomedical challenges explorers may face as they venture to an asteroid, Mars and beyond. This mission will also provide an additional opportunity for cooperation between research teams around the world.
Continue reading ‘Year-long Space Station Stay to Advance Knowledge for Deep Space Missions’
Posted on May 7, 2013, at 4:51 pm .
Good news, everyone! It looks like soprano Sarah Brightman will be flying to the International Space Station after all. Just like they announced nine months ago.
Ending months of crackling suspense that had millions (or thousands, hundreds, or maybe just scores –hard to say) of people around the world on the edge of their seats, Russian officials have appeared to re-announced what they once again say are firm plans to have the British recording star travel to ISS aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.
“The sides will discuss in the near future the implementation of this project, including Sarah Brightman’s preparation for the flight and the program of her activities on board the orbital station,” the Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.
Continue reading ‘Sarah Brightman’s Flight to ISS Appears to Be Back on — Again’
Posted on May 1, 2013, at 2:04 pm .
Petrified wood (Credit: Jon Sullivan)
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
On Sunday, I dropped by Bob’s Army Navy Store in Mojave, hoping to pick up a pair of good binoculars for the SpaceShipTwo flight scheduled for the next day. Although my search was in vain, I did visit the area on the west side of the building where there are a variety of rocks for sale.
There were rocks of every kind: large rocks and small rocks, crystals, rocks with scaly lizards scurrying underneath to escape from someone who was equally afraid of them. I was fascinated. I had no idea there were that many types of rocks. Or that people would want to buy such things in large numbers. What would they use them for? I was stumped.
What really caught my interest, though, was the petrified wood.
Continue reading ‘Petrified Congressmen Delay Commercial Space Efforts’
Posted on April 24, 2013, at 12:08 am .
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks over plans for Vostochny. (Credit: Roscosmos)
Russian President-for-Life Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was in the Amur region on April 12 to view construction progress at the new Vostochny spaceport, name its support city after Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, announce the commitment of $50 million to the space program through 2020, talk to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, and lay out the future and challenges ahead for the nation’s space program.
Continue reading ‘Putin Visits Vostochny, Discusses Future of Russian Space Program’
Posted on March 9, 2013, at 8:45 am .
MOSCOW, March 1, 2013 (Roscosmos PR) — Today, the Russian Space Agency held an event on the signing of the Agreement on cooperation and joint activities in the formation of a modern and efficient system of training of qualified personnel for the space industry (PSC), which involves the creation of the Space Research and Education Innovation Consortium.
The event was attended by representatives of Roscosmos, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences, heads of rocket and space industry, as well as rectors of Russian universities that train specialists for the space industry.
Continue reading ‘Russia Forms Consortium to Deal with Aerospace Manpower Shortage’
Posted on January 18, 2013, at 9:45 am .
Proton rocket
Russian officials are not pleased that Kazakhstan has approved the launch of 12 Proton rockets from Baikonur in 2013 instead of the requested 17. Kazakhstan has cited environmental reasons for the restriction, saying that Proton uses a toxic fuel.
Moscow may demand to review the cosmodrome lease agreement conditions, Iterfax-Kazakhstan reports, citing Interfax Division for Military News as quoting a source in the Russia’s space industry.
“A possible scenario is to initiate talks to have the rent payments tied to the extent to which the Baikonur satisfies Russia’s needs”, the source said.
“Russia is meeting Kazakhstan’s requirements to stagedly decrease harmful emissions of the carrier rockets”, the source said, reminding that Kazakhstan cited environment concerns when restricting the number of launches.
“In particular, Russia has implemented a costly program to modernize Proton carrier rockets to Proton-M. Heptyl-run Cyclon-2 and RS-20 are no longer used”, the source said, adding that “hardly will the sides come to terms within a short time”.
A total of 30 launches are planned from Baikonur this year.
This is the latest dispute over the Kazakh spaceport, which Russia leases at a cost of $115 million per year. Kazakhstan has said it wants to renegotiate the lease and assume greater control over the Soviet-era facility.
Russia will be moving many — but not all — of the launch operations currently performed at Baikonur to a new launch complex at Vostochny in the Russian Far East beginning in 2015.
Read the full story.
Posted on January 5, 2013, at 5:19 am .
OKA-T spacecraft (Credit: RSC Energia)
MOSCOW (Energia PR) — S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia embarked on the activities under the project of spacecraft OKA-T serviced on the International Space Station (ISS). Works are underway on development effort “OKA-T-ISS” in the Preliminary Design stage in accordance with the Federal Space Agency contract. Works completion date for the Preliminary Design stage is November 2013.
Continue reading ‘Energia Begins Work on OKA-T Free Flying Experiments Module’
Posted on December 30, 2012, at 7:22 am .
Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin. (Credit: Roscosmos)
Izvestia has published a lengthy interview with Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin, who touched upon issues that included singer Sarah Brightman’s planned space tourism flight, upcoming Angara flight tests, American interest in purchasing a new rocket engine, Russia’s launch record in 2012, and the general state of the industry.
Key excerpts, courtesy of Google Translate, are reproduced below. All the sections involve translated quotes except for the one on Angara flights.
On Sarah Brightman’s Planned Space Tourism Flight
“We are not opposed to training, but so far we have no contract to that effect has been signed. By agreement between Roscosmos and NASA planned extremely long expedition to the ISS crew of two in 2015, people will spend at the station for a year. At the same time, the warranty term of the spacecraft Soyuz in orbit – no more than six months. That is, during the extremely long expedition ship docked to the ISS needs to be changed. Question – how to do it? You can put it in two tourists and 10 days to return back. The second option – to do some expedition. But the 10-day expedition is impractical – in fact it will be hidden in the performance of tourism trained astronauts. You can extend the life of the expedition up to 40 days, but then on the ISS will not be six and nine. All this pulls the start of another cargo ship ‘Progress,’ and this is serious money we are unlikely to find, as the program up to 2015 is already laid out. Therefore, we have not decided who to put in two free seats. Send our trained astronaut to have it on 10 days to fly there in fact a tourist by the state – perhaps it is not entirely justified. Moreover, our European colleagues have told us that they would like to purchase a vacant chair for her astronaut. Now we weigh all the ‘pros’ and ‘cons.’ Plan to take a decision in the I quarter of next year.”
Posted on December 29, 2012, at 1:16 pm .
Russia will spend about $70 billion on its space industry through the end of this decade in an effort to improve capabilities and foster innovation, according to media reports:
Russia will spend 2.1 trillion rubles (about $70 billion) under a state program for the development of the national space industry in 2013-2020, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday….
“The program will enable our country to effectively participate in forward-looking projects, such the ISS [International Space Station], the study of the Moon, Mars and other celestial bodies in the solar system,” he said.
Continue reading ‘Russia Plans $70 Billion in Space Spending Through 2020′
Posted on December 26, 2012, at 8:05 am .
The Russian government’s proposal to consolidate the nation’s rocket industry to deal with serious quality control problems in its space industry is getting a decidedly chilly reception:
Russian space rocket corporation Energia head Vitaly Lopota on Wednesday rejected as a “non-market” measure the idea of establishing an engine holding company in the domestic space industry.
“This proposal would completely eliminate the competitive environment in the country,” Lopota said….
Russian Space Agency Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin had previously said Russia planned to create a single holding company for booster rocket production to integrate the country’s leading space vehicle producers Khrunichev and TsSKB Progress, and also an engine-building sub-holding company to include engine makers Energomash, the Khimavtomatiki design bureau, the Voronezh mechanical works, Proton PM and other firms.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government in summer to work out a plan to improve Russia’s space industry organizations, after a string of mishaps that he said have compromised Russia’s image as a leading space power.
Read the full story.
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