Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome (updates)

[Draggendrop Veteran]

First Rocket Launch From Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Will Not Be Insured

 

 

 

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A Soyuz-1A carrier rocket is planned for the spring of 2016 and will be the first launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

 

"The launch will be uninsured. The only thing that is insured is [possible] damage to third parties in case the carrier rocket crashes. We believe the Soyuz rocket carrier is reliable," Leonid Makridenko told journalists.

 

The Vostochny Cosmodrome, located in Russia's Far Eastern Amur Region, is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050.

 

earlier report Putin Hopes Vostochny Comsodrome Completed According to Schedule Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope Thursday that the completion and the first launch from the Vostochny space center in Russia's Far East would be carried out according to the schedule.

 

"I hope everything will be done in time. There is a backlog which was large - up to a year and a half. Now it has been cut to four-five-six months. I hope that the first launches will be carried out by the schedule which we had set out, the first quarter of next year," Putin said at his annual press conference.

 

The Vostochny space center has been under construction in the Amur Region of Russia's Far East since mid-2012. Once Vostochny is completed, it will enable Russia to launch most missions from its own soil, reducing the country's reliance on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

 

The total cost of construction of the Vostochny space center is estimated at 180 billion rubles ($2.9 billion), according to Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).

 

On October 14, Putin gave his permission to make the first launch from Vostochny in the spring of 2016.

 

In early November, Roscosmos head Igor Komarov said the state space corporation had signed contracts for 31 commercial space launches, many of which will be carried out from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in 2018-2019.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/First_Rocket_Launch_From_Russias_Vostochny_Cosmodrome_Will_Not_Be_Insured_999.html

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

bits and bytes....

 

Image by Sergey Volkov, from the ISS, of Vostochny, HD, open in new tab ( from NSF )

 

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=19909.0;attach=1100425;image

 

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Misc tweets from Vostochny

 

 

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At # cosmodrome  # East arrived spacecraft # Lomonosov 
Welcome, Michael V.!

 

 

 

 

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People in white coats begin to prepare the missile for "dry removal" on the launch pad. This is the end of March

 

 

 

 

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At the launch site Baikonur East successfully completed testing of autonomous mobile service tower RN

 

 

 

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Departing at # cosmodrome  # East 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Low oil prices are taking a toll. Looks like the Angara pad is still a go, but the moon program will be delayed a bit till things turn around. The reusable launcher concept is also on hold.

 

Russia Approves Downsized 10-Year Space Budget

 

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The cash-strapped Russian government has approved a 10-year spending plan for the federal space program that’s is only 40 percent of the original plan.

 

The program would allocate 1.4 trillion rubles ($20 billion) until 2025, with the possibility of providing an additional 115 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) after 2022, said Roscosmos Director General Igor Komarov.

 

The original plan proposed spending 3.4 trillion ($49.9 billion) through 2025.

 

The Russian government’s official website published the following remarks about the plan by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev:

 

The draft of the Federal Space Programme under discussion today covers the ten-year period from 2016 to 2025. As the Government moves towards approving this document, the considerable experience accumulated in this area is worth mentioning. This year Russia and the whole world will celebrate anniversaries of a number of milestone achievements in space exploration. On 12 April, we will mark 55 years since the first space flight, and 31 March will be the 50th anniversary of the launch from the Baikonur Space Centre of the Luna-10 unmanned space station, the first artificial satellite of the Moon.

 

On 14 March, a mission to Mars, called ExoMars 2016, was launched. This is a joint project to study Mars led by the European Space Agency and Russia. There are also other examples of new technologies and solutions they provide.

 

We need to further develop the group of orbital satellites used for communications, TV and radio broadcasting purposes. They fulfil a specific mission, which is to ensure Russia’s information independence. By 2025, the group is expected to reach 73 satellites, up from less than 50.

 

The number of unmanned and manned spacecraft on near-Earth orbits will also be expanded to satisfy the minimum requirements of Russia’s planned space exploration efforts.

 

The construction of the Russian Orbital Segment of the International Space Station will be completed with a view of using the station for quite a protracted period.

 

At the Vostochny Space Launch Centre a facility for heavy-lift launch vehicles is under construction to be used for launching unmanned spacecraft. By 2023, the infrastructure will be in place for launching manned space flights.

 

These are just a few of the objectives stipulated in the Federal Space Programme.

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/03/17/russia-approves-downsized-10year-space-budget/#more-57800

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-slashes-space-funding-30-134849721.html

 

Vostochny will be OK, so far...hope things turn around.

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

First Soyuz for Vostochny reaches launch pad

 

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On March 21, 2016, the first Soyuz-2 rocket with a Volga upper stage was rolled out to the launch pad in Vostochny, Roskosmos announced. The vehicle was transported from the assembly building to the launch facility and installed into vertical position. On the same day, the mobile service tower rolled onto the pad and enclosed the rocket, enabling the beginning of electric tests of the booster and its upper stage.

 

According to Roskosmos, the autonomous tests will continue on March 22 and the integrated tests will begin on the same day, followed by the withdrawal of the mobile service tower. It will clear the way for general tests of the launch vehicle with all the telemetry being downlinked to Vostochny's ground control station. The electromagnetic compatibility of the rocket with the launch facility will also be checked, as well as the fueling and umbilical mast retraction to test the launch operations.

 

On March 23, the personnel at Vostochny will perform fueling tests, simulating the loading of propellant onboard the rocket. Finally, on March 24, engineers will practice procedures during the aborted launch.

 

If all tests go as scheduled, the launch vehicle will be removed from the launch pad on March 25 and returned to its processing facility for the final assembly with its payloads, including Lomonosov, Aist-2D and Kontakt-Nanosputnik satellites, which will be delivered into orbit during the first mission from Vostochny. The State Commission overseeing the launch will be making decision on the date of the first liftoff based on the results of the tests, the readiness of the launch facilities and the completion of safety measures for the launch personnel, Roskosmos said.

 

The First Soyuz-2 rocket on the launch pad in Vostochny as seen through the Mobile Service Tower on March 21, 2016.

 

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz2-vostochny.html#rollout

 

The following images from Dmitry Rogozin twitter

Dmitry Rogozin twitter

 

 

 

 

 

[Beittil]

Bring in the matches

[Draggendrop Veteran]

From Dmitry Rogozin twitter, the tests were OK.

 

Rogozin twitter

 

 

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Complex tests of the launch vehicle, the launch complex and spacecraft go without criticism 

 

 

 

 

 

From Artem Lepesin twitter

 

Lepesin twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And here - Roscosmos reports on the results of the test cosmodrome systems 

So far, testing progressing well.

 

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

I like Igor Komarov; he is the first head of Roscosmos who appeals to me (since Korolyov left).

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Sergei Korolev is the defacto legend in my books. I just wish that he had the recognition from the general public while he was alive. His own daughter was unaware of his work. We all know of his achievements now though..."hats off for Sergei Korolev"

 

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

12 minutes ago, Draggendrop said:

Sergei Korolev is the defacto legend in my books. I just wish that he had the recognition from the general public while he was alive. His own daughter was unaware of his work. We all know of his achievements now though..."hats off for Sergei Korolev"

 

His identity couldn't be known because the stakes were too high    

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

5 minutes ago, DocM said:

/sigh

 

Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com reports the ExoMars Briz-M upper stage exploded after spacecraft separation rather than continue burns to place it in a disposal orbit.

ExoMars thread is this way, Doc

 

 

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

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At the launch site # East nominally ended the test launch complex -http: // www. roscosmos.ru/22067/ . 

 

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ROSCOSMOS. COSMODROME EAST - "DRY EXPORT" "Soyuz-2" COMPLETED

 

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March 25, 2016 at Baikonur EAST nominally ended in comprehensive tests of the launch complex.

"Soyuz-2" launch vehicle was taken from the technical to the launch facility and is set to launch the system. On the first day we were also held hitting IBO (mobile service tower), assembly systems, testing schemes and the launch complex of the carrier rocket, electrical testing of launch vehicle systems and removal unit "Volga". All systems worked nominally.

March 22, 2016 continued autonomous testing rocket systems, comprehensive tests were carried out, was assigned to the launch pad, the mobile service tower. general testing rocket systems also held, while the whole telemetry data taken Eastern Command and the measuring point of the cosmodrome. Have been tested for electromagnetic compatibility of the systems on board the launch vehicle and the launch complex systems, tests on the scum-filling cable and top cable mast mast - for testing operations carried out at the start of the carrier rocket.

On this day, the spaceport EAST paid a working visit delegation of board of the Military-Industrial Commission (MIC), led by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. Dmitry Rogozin, and board members visited the MIC objects starting minimum Baikonur East and held a working meeting with the Russian Federal Space Agency and the enterprises of space-rocket industry, members of the state corporation "Roscosmos", as well as representatives of Spetsstroy Russia on the construction of the spaceport and the preparations for the first launch.

Also, March 22, 2016 at Baikonur EAST held a meeting of the Supervisory Board of Samara State Aerospace University (Samara State Aerospace University), whose chairman is Dmitry Rogozin.

March 23, 2016 on the east tested filling systems launch complex with simulated rocket-refueling tanks with propellant components.

March 24 employees of enterprises of space-rocket industry of Russia and fighting crew worked mode prelaunch processing and launch operations for cancellation.

On the last day of complex tests, March 25, booster shot with the starting system and returned to the assembly-test case for further work, including - for the assembly of the space head part of a spacecraft "Lomonosov", "Aist-2D" and " Call nano-satellite ".

The decision to roll out the launch vehicle to the launch pad for final preparation and determination of the start date of the first civil cosmodrome Russia, the spaceport Vostochny, will be made by the State Commission for positive test results at the processing facility, as well as the absence of comments and readiness of the launch complex to receive missiles booster and implementing a set of measures to ensure the safety of personnel involved in carrying out the prelaunch and launch.

http://www.roscosmos.ru/22067/

 

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Research on near-earth space to start with first launch from Vostochny

 

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Aist 2D will become the first satellite to reach orbit from the Vostochny Space Launch Center, jump starting a series of research projects on near-Earth space and the way it impacts materials used in spacecraft, the press service of the Samara State Aerospace University said in a statement released on Tuesday, March 15.

"Scientists from the Samara State Aerospace University will launch an integrated research project on near-Earth space and the way it impacts materials used in spacecraft," the statement reads.

The project will be carried out using an Aist 2D satellite developed by the Samara State Aerospace University in cooperation with TsSKB-Progress. It is expected to take part in the first launch from the Vostochny Space Launch Center.

more at the link...

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_Research_on_Near_Earth_Space_to_Start_With_First_Launch_From_Vostochny_999.html

 

Everything is working well so far.

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

This might sound kind of silly, but this is the real welcome for Vostochny Cosmodrome into action...

 

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April 25Soyuz • Mikhailo Lomonosov

Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia

A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch for the first time from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East, carrying a satellite named Mikhailo Lomonosov with instruments to study high-energy cosmic rays, gamma rays and the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere. Two smaller secondary payloads, named Aist 2 and SamSat 218, will also launch aboard the Soyuz rocket. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration with a Volga upper stage. [Jan. 28]

http://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/

 

Now that is cool.    Can't wait to see the launch.....   

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Soyuz aces test campaign at new Vostochny Cosmodrome

 

The Soyuz-2.1a rocket sits on its launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome during tests last week. Credit: TsSKB Progress

 

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Russian technicians have finished tests of launch facilities at the Vostochny Cosmodrome ahead of the first liftoff from the new Siberian spaceport as soon as next month, Roscosmos announced Friday.

 

The product of a multibillion-dollar investment by the Russian government, the new launch base is located in Russia’s Amur region near the Chinese border about 3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers) east of Moscow. It will eventually host most of the launches currently taking off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as Russia aims to base more of its space missions from its own territory.

 

Ground crews rolled out the Soyuz-2.1a rocket assigned for the first flight from Vostochny to its launch pad at dawn March 21.

 

The rollout from a nearby assembly building marked the start of a week of ground tests and functional checks between the Soyuz rocket, its Volga upper stage and the newly-constructed launch pad.

 

A hydraulic lift erected the Soyuz booster vertical atop its launch mount, then the facility’s mobile service gantry wheeled into position around the rocket for electrical testing.

 

On March 22, another round of comprehensive checks focused on the electromagnetic compatibility between the rocket and Vostochny’s ground systems. Ground teams transferred the launch pad’s mobile service tower to its launch position to allow the cosmodrome’s communications station to receive telemetry from the rocket. The day’s tests concluded with the retraction of the launch pad’s fueling and umbilical masts to demonstrate their function, according to Roscosmos.

 

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The Soyuz launch team simulated loading kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants into the three-stage rocket March 23, Roscosmos reported in a press release. The next day, engineers rehearsed launch abort procedures at Vostochny.

 

The rocket returned to its integration building Friday for final prelaunch checks and the attachment of its three satellite payloads.

 

The satellites include the 1,170-pound (531-kilogram) Aist 2D spacecraft, made by TsSKB Progress in partnership with Samara State Aerospace University, which will demonstrate a new small spacecraft design with a high-resolution hyperspectral imaging camera. Aist 2D also carries an innovative radar operating in P-band, a wavelength that penetrates through forest canopies and Earth’s surface to study underground structures.

 

Another spacecraft aboard the first launch from Vostochny comes from students at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Named for Mikhailo Lomonosov, an 18th century Russian scientist and writer, the spacecraft will weigh nearly 1,000 pounds (about 450 kilograms) at liftoff, according to the mission’s website.

 

The Mikhailo Lomonosov satellite will study high-energy cosmic rays and gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe astronomers believe come from the collapse of massive stars at the end of their lives.

 

Other sensors on the spacecraft will look at Earth’s magnetosphere, the bubble that protects the planet from harmful solar and cosmic radiation.

A tiny student-built CubeSat the size of a shoebox will also launch on the Soyuz-2.1a rocket.

 

The launch date has not been confirmed, but several reports point to a preliminary target date around April 25.

 

The Soyuz rocket arrives at its launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome on March 21. Credit: TsSKB Progress

 

The mobile service gantry at the Soyuz launch pad at Vostochny is seen moving around the three-stage booster during tests last week. Credit: TsSKB Progress

 

http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/03/28/russia-wraps-up-testing-of-new-vostochny-cosmodrome/

 

And Vostochny has that "new launch pad smell" and no one wants to be the first to scratch it...

 

[DocM]

If you don't want it scratched, keep Proton out.

[Beittil]

Man, I really do love the color scheme used in Vostochny So much nicer than the dull greens and browns over at Baikonur.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

This is interesting for Angara and possibly Vostochny later...

 

Russia to unveil new rockets; First Vostochny launch set for April

 

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Russia will show the design of a super-heavy space launch vehicle before the end of 2016, the head of Roscosmos State Corporation said Wednesday.

By the end of the year Roscosmos will present our vision on creation of a carrier rocket of a super-heavy class, Igor Komarov told reporters.

 

In April 2015, the space agency abandoned plans to develop a super-heavy space launch vehicle after re-allocating funds.

 

Instead, Russia focused on modifying a heavy Angara-A5 rocket to lift super-heavy loads. The first launch of the Angara super-heavy carrier rocket is set to take place in 2021, according to Roscosmos.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_to_unveil_new_rockets_First_Vostochny_launch_set_for_April_999.html

 

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Russia's New Phoenix Medium-Class Carrier Rocket to Be Ready Before2025

 

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Russia's new medium-class carrier rocket, Phoenix, should be created before 2025, the head of Roscosmos State Corporation said Wednesday.

 

"We intend to develop [Phoenix] before 2025. We see that both the market and life demand the speeding up of this project," Igor Komarov told reporters.

 

By the end of the year, the Russian Federal Space Agency will provide the government and the president with a report on the project, he added.

 

In late December 2015, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Russia had started work to create a super-heavy rocket with Phoenix as its first stage.

 

Expenditures on developing the Phoenix carrier rocket are included in Russia's federal space program for 2016-2025.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_to_unveil_new_rockets_First_Vostochny_launch_set_for_April_999.html

 

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Russia to Conduct First Space Launch From Vostochny Cosmodrome in April

 

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Russia will conduct the first space launch from its new Vostochny space center in country's Far East in April, the head of Roscosmos State Corporation said Wednesday.

 

The first launch was expected to take place in December 2015, but it had been postponed due to the delays in the construction process.

"The first launch from Vostochny will be conducted in the last ten days of April," Igor Komarov told reporters.

 

He added that the certain date would be chosen by country's authorities at the session of the government commission.

 

"In the long view, from eight to 10 launches are expected to be provided [from Vostochny] annually," Komarov said.

 

He added that the space center was expected to start operating at full capacity by 2018.

 

which has been under construction since 2012, is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_to_unveil_new_rockets_First_Vostochny_launch_set_for_April_999.html

 

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

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Russia will show the design of a super-heavy space launch vehicle before the end of 2016

I watched the whole interview with Komarov. He said it was going to be able of delivering upto 70 tonnes of payload to LEO, so it's most likely be called Angara A8.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Russia to Carry Out 1st Space Launch From Vostochny on April 27 - Roscosmos

[Draggendrop Veteran]

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The first launch from Baikonur # East scheduled April 27, 2016 at 05:01 MSK:http: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22121/ 

 

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ROSCOSMOS. FIRST START from the Baikonur EAST TO BE ON APRIL 27, 2016

 

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The State Commission, having considered the results of comprehensive tests of the launch facility Baikonur East and prepare the launch vehicle "Soyuz 2.1a", decided on the appointment of the first launch April 27, 2016 at 5:01 MSK.

Specialists companies state corporation "Roscosmos" started prelaunch preparation of all Baikonur EAST systems, launch vehicle (LV) and spacecraft. Removal of the rocket on the launch pad is scheduled for April 23, 2016.

21-25 March 2016 held a "dry removal" RN (complex tests Vostochny cosmodrome launch complex). The impact of the IBO (mobile service tower) were carried out during the test, the test system assembly diagrams launch facility and rocket, electrical testing systems and rocket launch unit "Volga". All systems worked nominally.

In addition, checks were carried out on the EMC board systems LV and launch complex systems, tests on the dregs of cable-filling the top of the mast and the mast cable - for testing operations performed when starting pH.

Also produced by the test launch complex filling systems with simulated refueling tank rocket propellants.

All tests were nominally. 

Then the "Soyuz-2" was removed from the launch pad and delivered in the assembly and test complex of the carrier rocket (MIC RN) to prepare for the launch and assembly space payload rocket with spacecraft "Lomonosov", "Aist-2D" and " Call nano-satellite ".

http://www.roscosmos.ru/22121/

 

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Cosmodrome Vostochny

video is 1:26 min.

 

 

 

Tests of the first launch vehicle at the Baikonur EAST

video is 2:12 min.

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

miscellaneous....

 

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Four years ago there was the Amur taiga the https: // youtu.be/bRXe5zOFdGo 

 

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SC "Lomonosov" has successfully passed testing at the Baikonur complex EAST

This is the payload for first launch....

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Photo exhibition "From Baikonur to the East" opens April 8, Exhibit metro station: http://www.roscosmos.ru/22126/

The link is...

 

Roscosmos and the Moscow metro. PHOTO EXHIBITION "FROM EAST TO Baikonur"

 

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Under the "Gagarin. Let's go! "To the 55th anniversary of the first manned flight into space state corporation" Roscosmos "and the Moscow Metro opened a special photo project.
April 8 at 16:00 MSK opens photo exhibition on "Exhibition" metro station. Unique photos will tell about the history and present day of the two spaceports - Baikonur and Eastern.
Customers - the passengers of the Moscow metro - see the life, work, launches rockets and, of course, rare historical moments of the first spaceport in the world, the legendary Baikonur. And also - the story of creation and the "first steps" of the new, the first civilian spaceport Russian - EAST. There will be surprises.
The exhibition will open the head of the Moscow Metro Dmitry Pegova and Communications Director of the State Corporation "Roskosmos" Igor BURENKOV.
After the opening ceremony the guests waiting for a creative gift and cosmonaut Sergei Ryazan lecture "Looking from space." 

http://www.roscosmos.ru/22126/

 

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Gagarin, the 55th anniversary.

 

The anniversary of the first successful two-way flight of a human to space is today!

 

However, Yuri Gagarin wasn't the first human who was visited the Cosmos, but he was the first one to come back without a glitch.

 

Gherman Titov crash landed in China about a week before Yuri's flight and was held in captivity there for a month. The Sino-Soviet had already happened and the relationships between the countries were cold at that time which is the reason why Titov wasn't returned back immediately.

 

p.s. Before Yuri's flight took place, the western media had published about a dozen articles each with unique names about the Soviet attempts to reach space, all of them ending fatally. None of this was true. A few people from that list were indeed test-pilots, but who died under different circumstances. Others lived till 2000's. However, I don't exclude a possibility that someone might have died, no matter how slim the chances may be because all the soviet archives were opened after the country had collapsed. It's just that what the western media posted was purely speculation in order to discredit the USSR. They couldn't have possibly known even if someone actually died.

 

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space (Photo Gallery)

slide show, 31 images...

http://www.space.com/11346-photos-yuri-gagarin-vostok1-human-spaceflight.html

 

here are a few of the images...

On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space, launched into orbit on the Vostok 3KA-3 spacecraft (Vostok 1).

 

 

The first human ever to fly in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (left), meets with spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev.

 

In 1968, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin trained for another space mission, but was killed in a plane crash before doing so. Here, Gagarin is shown just before that flight in a photo released by the Russian aerospace firm RSC Energia.

 

Respected by all.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Space Firm: Russia to Shift All Lunar Launches to Vostochny Cosmodrome

 

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Russia will stop using the Soviet-era Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for lunar launches, according to Russian-based Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC Energia).

KOROLYOV (Moscow Region), (Sputnik) —  Moscow made the decision to shift all operations linked to Russia's moon mission to the Vostochny cosmodrome, the company behind the program said Monday.

 

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"All further works to implement the lunar program, including a flight around the moon and a moon landing will take place after 2025. All launches will take place at the Vostochny cosmodrome," RSC Energia General Designer Yevgeny Mikrin said.

 

Vostochny in Russia's Far East was conceived as an alternative to Baikonur, which is on lease to Russia until 2050. The new space port has been under construction since 2012. The first launch from Vostochny is planned for April 27, according to the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos.

Russia is already building a next-generation reusable spacecraft to replace the Soyuz family. The spaceship, called Federation, is due to be launched in unmanned mode in 2021, with a manned launch to the International Space Station planned by 2023, Mikrin said at the company’s council meeting in the city of Korolyov near Moscow.

Mikrin said the Energia corporation was also working on a range of space technologies that would further the ambitious lunar program, including a heavy-lift launch vehicle, an upper-stage rocket and an interorbital space tug.

http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160411/1037819163/russia-vostocny-lunar-program.html

 

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On April 12 Violet Metro line runs "cosmic" train. # Gagarin  # Let's go  # PodnimiGolovu

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Vladimir Putin has made contact with the ISS and the spaceport Vostochny http://tass.ru/kosmos/3196854

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Residents of the city of Baikonur celebrated the Day of Cosmonautics: http: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22150/ . # Gagarin  # Let's go  # PodnimiGolovu

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

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the Day of Cosmonautics

The beauty of it is that it's completely apolitical, as opposed to the 8th of march for example.

 

You can be anyone from anywhere to celebrate it.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Vostochny prepares for its first launch

 

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A decade after the last converted ICBM flew from the now defunct Svobodny Cosmodrome in 2006, the first Soyuz rocket is finally ready to blast off from a nearby pad in Vostochny. However, after this first symbolic launch, the new spaceport is expected to remain largely unused until at least 2018. In the meantime, construction teams switched from the most urgent infrastructure needed for the first launch to secondary facilities, which were planned in the first phase of spaceport development.

 

The First Soyuz-2 rocket on the launch pad in Vostochny in March 2016.

 

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Completing the first phase

 

As of beginning of 2016, the total price tag for the first phase of Vostochny was expected to reach 120 billion rubles with nine billion to be spent during that year to finish the first phase of spaceport infrastructure that would not be necessary for the first launch, RIA Novosti quoted Roskosmos head Igor Komarov as saying. These additional facilities included a centralized propellant storage complex, the second phase of an industrial zone, a meteorological facility, communications and new residential infrastructure. Some work would include preparations for clean-up efforts at drop zones for spent rocket stages downrange from Vostochny.

 

The development of facilities in the first phase of construction was expected to continue well into 2017, overlapping with early work on the second phase. According to the Spetsstroi military construction agency, the future development would require a new concrete production plant, a hotel, several makeshift camps for up to 1,000 extra workers, a canteen, a laboratory and new earth-moving and road-construction equipment.

In February, Spetsstroi began shifting its workforce from already completed sites to future projects, the agency said.

 

Key facilities of Vostochny photographed from the International Space Station by the Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov on Feb. 19, 2016.

 

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On March 30, Roskosmos announced that a ground station in Vostochny, VKIP, along with associated mobile remote stations had successfully completed integrated tests and was ready to support launch operations. From June 17, 2015, the facility received telemetry during nine communications sessions with the ISS, and it also downlinked telemetry from the Resurs-P satellite and tracked the launch of the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft.

 

At the beginning of April, the State Commission reviewed the results of the on-pad tests, the readiness of the launch facilities and the completion of safety measures for the launch personnel and approved the first launch from Vostochny on April 27, 2016, at 05:01 Moscow Time.

 

The First Soyuz-2 rocket on the launch pad in Vostochny as seen through the Mobile Service Tower on March 21, 2016.

 

 

First test rollout and installation of the Soyuz-2 rocket to its brand new launch pad in Vostochny in March 2016.  Credit: Oleg Urusov

 

 

Aerial view of the Soyuz launch complex (foreground) and the processing complex (background) in Vostochny in March.  Credit: Roskosmos

 

 

Spacecraft fueling facility was completed in Vostochny at the beginning of 2016.  Credit: Oleg Urusov

 

 

Credit: Oleg Urusov

 

 

Credit: Roskosmos

 

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/vostochny2016.html