Russia
Proton Medium, International Launch Services’ answer to Falcon 9, put on “indefinite hold”
Russia has suspended development of the Proton Medium rocket that U.S.-based International Launch Services (ILS) began marketing two years ago as its answer to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
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Putin challenges Roscosmos to “drastically improve” on space and launch
Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Roscosmos to meet deadlines for the nation’s future Angara, Soyuz-5 and “super-heavy class” rockets while fixing quality-control issues that have dogged Russian spacecraft and launch vehicles in recent years.
New Roscosmos chief prioritizes ending Proton’s reign
In his first interview as head of Russia’s Roscosmos space corporation, Dmitry Rogozin confirmed reports of the venerable Proton rocket’s coming demise and suggested Russia is looking to make its segment of the ISS more autonomous.
Trump’s Space Force announcement could propel us to deal with space ‘Pearl Harbor’
Those who loathe or love a Space Force “separate but equal” to the Air Force must think and act decisively and quickly. Regardless of whether the Space Force actually materializes, deliberation alone could finally spring us into action to deal with the looming threat of space Pearl Harbor.
Angola eyes new satellite as African space race accelerates
While Angola’s first telecom satellite, Angosat-1, failed not long after reaching orbit late last year, the sub-Saharan African nation will get a second shot at satellite ownership with the planned 2020 launch of Angosat-2.
Putin’s sanctioned space boss a new wrinkle for U.S.-Russian relations
The U.S.-Russian space partnership is one of technicalities, not of personalities. But Dmitry Rogozin is potentially toxic to this relationship from the standpoint of technicality.
Putin taps Rogozin to head Roscosmos
Bombastic and colorful, Rogozin’s international profile shot up significantly in 2014 when, in response to the first round of Western sanctions against Moscow for its annexation of Crimea, he tweeted that NASA could use a trampoline to reach the International Space Station.
Proton launches Russian defense comms satellite
Russia’s Proton rocket launched for the first time this year April 18 with a military communications satellite for the federation’s ministry of defense.
S7 closes Sea Launch purchase, future rocket TBD
Some 19 months after announcing its intent to buy the assets of Sea Launch, Russian aviation group S7 has closed the purchase.
DNI Coats: Enemies are developing advanced technology, space weapons. ‘We have to up our game’
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats: "There are a lot of efforts out there by more than one country relative to gaining space capabilities."
Space situational awareness experts urge Russia to join orbital neighborhood watch
To prevent collisions in space, nations with advanced orbital monitoring abilities need to share data with each other. Russia, being skilled in space situational awareness (SSA), should be part of the global effort to protect the space environment, experts said March 15 at the Satellite 2018 conference here.
Insurance firm paid Astro Digital’s claim for lost cubesats, sources said
An insurance company paid Astro Digital’s claim for the loss of two cubesats sent into orbit on a Russian Soyuz rocket after the Earth imaging and analysis company proved the failure stemmed from a launch problem, according to two space industry executives.
News Analysis | Russia sneers at Trump’s moon directive, but misses the point
There are many valid critiques of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new direction for NASA. Few, if any, would be new. But Russian government officials saw an opportunity for domestic attention and took a stab at it.
Angosat-1 communications restored after post-launch glitch
Angola’s new satellite Angosat-1 is communicating normally with ground teams again after losing contact shortly after launch.
