Russian Space Program: News & Discussion #1

Western sanctions not to affect Russian space observatory project

MOSCOW, August 04. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian scientists hope that sanctions imposed on the country over the crisis in Ukraine will fail to affect space projects, particularly a Russian major space observatory, the director of the Astro Space Centre at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Lebedev Physics Institute told reporters at a Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) scientific assembly under way in Moscow on Monday.

A Russian space observatory with a millimetre-range telescope for astrophysical research is named project Millimetron.

“Still, everything is OK. This month our specialists will go to Japan to discuss it [delivery of foreign component parts] in detail,” chief of the RAS Physics Institute’s centre Nikolai Kardashev said.

If Western sanctions have an impact on scientific co-operation Russian science and industry can produce domestic component parts, he said.

Russia to focus on Moon, Mars exploration, repeat Phobos-Grunt mission
“No prepared decision exists, but several plants which would be able to launch its development operate,” Kardashev said.

However, if this order is transferred to Russian suppliers a space observation mission will be delayed. Now Millimetron space observatory is planned to launch in 2020.

Lavochkin design bureau is developing a satellite platform.

Russia to Develop New Satellite Communication System

Russian Cosmonauts Conclude Science-Oriented Spacewalk One Hour Ahead of Schedule

MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev have successfully concluded a spacewalk focused on science experiments placed on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) over one hour ahead of schedule, Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said Monday.

“The exit hatch [of the docking compartment Pirs] was closed on August 18, 2014 at 23:12 Moscow time [19:12 GMT]. Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev have carried out open space works for the second time during the expedition. The extravehicular activity was approximately 5 hours 10 minutes in duration,” Roscosmos said.

The spacewalk began at 18:02 Moscow time [14:02 GMT] and was planned to last for six hours and 15 minutes.

The first task, performed by the cosmonauts was the launch of the NS-1 nanosatellite. The 1.5-kg satellite, unofficially dubbed as the Peruvian CubeSat Chasqui-1, will transmit camera images and telemetry back to Earth for further academic studies by students under the Radioscaf educational program.

As part of the spacewalk, Skvortsov and Artemyev mounted the Expose-R experiment package on the station’s hull. The experiment serves to research a long-term influence of the space environment on the survival of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals.

Russian astronauts also photographed the thermal shield of the outer surface of the Russian segment of the ISS. Another task of the astronauts was to isolate and retrieve a Biorisk experiment container, which analyzes how microbial growth affects materials in space.

According to NASA, this is the 181st spacewalk devoted to ISS assembly and maintenance since construction of the space outpost began in 1998, the fourth so far this year.

MOSCOW, August 19. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s spacewalk program next year will focus on scientific tasks, flight control officer of the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) Vladimir Solovyov said on Tuesday.
“You see, almost all our spacewalks are linked not with repairs, but with fair science. The Americans make spacewalks to do repairs, and we - to launch a satellite or install new equipment. As far as I understand, next year we will have to perform [in terms of extravehicular activity] many scientific tasks linked with equipment exposure,” he said.
On Monday, Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev during a spacewalk manually launched the NS-1 scientific satellite, installed the Expose-R scientific equipment on the Zvezda service module. While on the conical section of Zvezda, they attached a handrail clamp holder for the Automatic Phased Array antenna. Skvortsov and Artemyev set up that communication systems antenna during their first spacewalk on June 19, NASA said.
Alexander Skvortsov during a spacewalk in June. The cosmonauts also set up the Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring unit on the Poisk Mini Research Module-2. Skvortsov and Artemyev retrieved several science packages designed to expose a variety of materials to the harsh environment of space. While on Poisk, they removed one cassette and install another on a materials experiment known by its Russian acronym SKK. The spacewalkers also retrieved a panel of sample materials from the Vinoslivost payload. The retrieval of a Biorisk experiment container outside Pirs completed the science package roundup for the two cosmonauts. Biorisk studies the effects of microbes on spacecraft structures. Skvortsov and Artemyev also collected residue samples from a window on Zvezda. The cosmonauts worked in space in the Orlan-MK spacesuits, designed and manufactured by the Moscow-region-based NPP Zvezda research and production enterprise.
NASA astronauts are planned to make a spacewalk in late September to repair systems of the ISS American segment.

Scientists find traces of sea plankton on ISS surface

KOROLEV (Moscow region), August 19. /ITAR-TASS/. An experiment of taking samples from illuminators and the ISS surface has brought unique results, as scientists had found traces of sea plankton there, the chief of an orbital mission on Russia’s ISS segment told reporters.
Results of the scope of scientific experiments which had been conducted for a quite long time were summed up in the previous year, confirming that some organisms can live on the surface of the International Space Station (ISS) for years amid factors of a space flight, such as zero gravity, temperature conditions and hard cosmic radiation. Several surveys proved that these organisms can even develop.
Microorganisms could be found on the ISS surface thanks to high-precision equipment. “Results of the experiment are absolutely unique. We have found traces of sea plankton and microscopic particles on the illuminator surface. This should be studied further,” chief of the Russian ISS orbital mission Vladimir Solovyev said.
He noted that it was not quite clear how these microscopic particles could have appeared on the surface of the space station.
In reply to a question on how the ISS surface is contaminated now, the space specialist said that the ISS surface was polluted very strongly due to operation of space engines and other factors. “We are conducting special works to polish somehow and put illuminators in order. This is particularly needed during long space flights,” Solovyev added.

Russia May Continue ISS Work Beyond 2020 - Reports

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia may continue working at the International Space Station (ISS) beyond 2020, Izvestia newspaper reported Monday.

"The issue of Russia's participation at the ISS after 2020 remains open, but there is a 90-percent chance that the state's leadership will agree to participate in the project further," the paper wrote citing a source at Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos.

Russian space enterprises continue to make new modules for the space station according to the schedule, the paper said.

NASA earlier said it had to freeze cooperation with Russian space researchers following Washington’s sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, prompting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to suggest Americans would now have to "get their astronauts to the ISS [International Space Station] using a trampoline."

Later, Rogozin announced Moscow was not planning to use the International Space Station after 2020 and would instead re-focus its funding on more promising new space projects. In response, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden vowed the US and Russia would continue to cooperate on space missions and keep each other informed.

First launch of Proton booster after accident due on September 28

MOSCOW, August 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's Roskosmos Space Agency said on Tuesday the first launch of the Proton booster after the May accident is scheduled for September 28.

“The booster rocket with the Briz-M accelerator unit is to put a Luch relay satellite in orbit,” the Roskosmos told ITAR-TASS detailing the upcoming launch of the Proton technology rocket which has remained grounded since May 16.

On Tuesday, Khrunichev Space Center specialists were installing screen vacuum insulation on Briz-M which is to put the satellite in parking orbit. Simultaneously, efforts were underway at launch pad # 81 to prepare the ground-handling equipment.

The Proton-M boost carrying the Express-AM4P communication satellite burnt in dense layers of the atmosphere on May 16. The experts investigating the accident said it was caused by disintegration of a bearing assembly in the turbo pump of the third-stage engine

Roscosmos to develop a “lunomobil” worth 6 billion rubles
Russian Aviaton » Wednesday August 27, 2014 02:50 MSK

The Federal Space Agency (Rsocosmos) needs 6 billion rubles to develop a lunomobil (lunar roving vehicle). It is specified in the draft Federal Space Program for 2016-2025, submitted for consideration by the Russian government, Lenta.ru reports.

The agency plans to manufacture lunomobil in 2020s. The work should be started in 2021. «Prototypes of the lunar roving vehicle, testing of the vehicle - 2021-2024», — specified in the document.

In 2025 Roscosmos plans to carry out ground testing of the vehicle at a special test site having a soil simulating the Moon surface.

The first lunar rover – Lunokhod-1 manufactured in USSR was delivered to the Moon on November 17th 1970. Prior to its shutdown on September 14th 1971 the vehicle covered the distance of over 10 km and took over 25,000 pictures. Its primary objective was to study the moon soil and radiation at the Earth satellite.

Interesting, did they not mention what it will be doing up there? (Soil samples, looking for water etc)

Russian Defense Ministry Plans to Switch to Soyuz, Angara Rocket Carriers From 2016

PLESETSK, August 27 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Defense Ministry has decided to stop using the Rokot light rocket carrier from 2016 because of its reliance on imported parts and will switch to the Soyuz and Angara carriers, Aerospace Defense Forces commander Lt. Gen. Alexander Golovko said Wednesday.

“Today the launches of the Rokot rocket carriers are used in the interests of the Defense Ministry within the framework of the space program and international cooperation programs. In the interests of the Defense Ministry there will be four launches, three in 2015 and one in 2016. Afterwards, the Defense Ministry may complete its tasks using the Soyuz-2 and Angara light rocket carriers,” Golovko told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Shoigu said that the change would mean that Russia “would no longer depend on [parts] imports for light-class rocket carriers.”

Back in March, in response to Crimea’s reunification with Russia, the United States and the European Union introduced a package of targeted sanctions against Russia.

As the Ukrainian crisis escalated, the West continued groundlessly accusing Moscow of meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs. The United States introduced several new rounds of sanctions targeting Russia’s defense, energy and banking sectors, and persuaded its allies to add Russian individuals and entities to their own blacklists.

Amid growing international tensions, many high-level Russian officials argued that the country should rely on its own resources and technology.

"Currently we are seeking practical measures but I think it would be better to first count on our own technologies and produce what is really necessary and beneficial for our defense industry," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in April.

Soyuz-2 is a Russian three-stage carrier rocket developed for delivering payloads into Earth’s orbit. It can carry a payload of 7,800 kilograms there and 4,500 kilograms into higher orbits.

The Angara family of space-launch vehicles is designed to provide lifting capabilities of between 2,000 and 40,500 kilograms into low Earth orbit. It has been in development since 1995.

Cannot wait for Angara to become main used system. It is much needed since the problems with Proton.

Kinda surprised about Soyuz issue with last launch. Soyuz is usually top class.

Yeah, same here... Proton should've been replaced years ago, or at the very least, substantially upgraded.

They are top notch, but the problem was within the Fregat upper-stage. - The Soyuz itself isn't to blame. Go to russianspaceweb.com, they have a boatload of information on it!

Where is Magnum to laugh at this failure?

Oh wait, he only does so when something American goes wrong.

A) The rocket itself didn't fail, the upper stage did.

B) Rockets and upper stages fail all the time, even the best ones.

C) The problem itself was a software bug, which can easily be fixed.

TR1 wrote:Where is Magnum to laugh at this failure?

Oh wait, he only does so when something American goes wrong.

Says the guy who says this forum is "worse than MP.net", when MP.net banned you for your opinions and this forum hasn't...despite all your flame-trolling in recent months. BTW weren't you the one lecturing about reading comprehension? I clearly stated the Russian Space programs "had problems" stemming from fiscal austerity regimes imposed by by Boris Yeltsin, cutting funding for science programs. Reading comprehension is key and instead of your usual twisting of the truth, here's what I actually said:

magnumcromagnon wrote:
Do you do anything other than troll bait this forum? BTW Russian space decline = Boris Yeltsin's 90's having all federal-funded programs cut to ribbons with IMF austerity (with the help from your beloved U.S. State Dept.), so what's the excuse for NASA's decline the U.S. didn't have go through anything economically close to that? The fact that NASA has a dependency on Russian rockets is quite astonishing considering what I just mentioned. It's quite relevant as they're gloating claiming that all their dependency and NASA problems would be gone by 2017, we already seeing through that the 2017 mark as not actually being factual when were already seeing problems arise. C'mon TR1, we know your not capable of thinking critically, what's happening to NASA now happened to the Russian space program, IMF backed austerity is destroying NASA like it's destroyed the Russian space agency, I know you were not capable of catching that...NASA budget wasn't even great before (considering the funding they potentially could of have) and now because of the pathetic neo-cons in Congress, the science budget is being thinned out even more. I'm a supporter of NASA and it's a program/field that's grossly under-funded...

Here's Neil De Grasse Tyson on NASA budget:

https://www.russiadefence.net/t2288p315-russia-space-news-and-discussion

- RSW.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to re-visit Vostochny at the beginning of September during his trip across the country including the Russian Far East, the official ITAR-TASS news agency said. Putin was scheduled to chair a meeting on the development of the launch site.

Foton-M4 lands, but all geckos onboard lost

On Aug. 27, Roskosmos suddenly announced that the State Commission responsible for the Foton-M4 flight had reviewed the status of scientific experiments onboard the spacecraft and had declared them completed as of that date. The commission decided to conduct landing of Foton-M4 on September 1, in the Orenburg Region in Southern Russia, the agency said.

The touchdown of the Foton-M4 spacecraft took place on Sept. 1, 2014, at 13:18 Moscow Summer Time, Roskosmos announced around half an hour after the fact. The agency's press-release also claimed that an average altitude of the satellite's orbit had been 575 kilometers, exceeding that of the International Space Station, ISS. This "piece of information" was likely copied from a pre-launch announcement, because, in reality, the orbit-correction engine onboard Foton-M4 had failed to deliver the spacecraft to its planned orbit shortly after its liftoff on July 19. The mission of Foton-M4 thus lasted 44 days instead of 60 days, which it was expected to fly at the time of the launch.

Around two hours after the landing, the official ITAR-TASS news agency reported that a joint search and rescue team of the Central Military District, TsVO; Roskosmos and the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of Space flight, IMBP; had started an evacuation of the descent capsule from the landing site. According to the TsVO press service quoted by the agency, the landing took place as planned at the expected area and radio signals enabled to determine its exact location.

The search and rescue team planned to load the descent module on a special evacuation vehicle, which would drive it to a local airfield, where the spacecraft would be put on a plane bound to Moscow. More than 100 military personnel of TsVO participated in the recovery operations along with 10 Mi-8 helicopters and An-26 fixed-wing aircraft.

Several hours after landing, Roskosmos reported that all five geckos onboard Foton-M4 had died during the mission, however flies inside another experiment had survived. Specialists were working to determine the time and conditions of their death, the agency said.