Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome (updates)

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

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# VostochnyyNEWS : in the "East" started installation of technological equipment for the next starthttp: // www. roscosmos.ru/23225/ 

 

 

TsENKI. EAST AT proceed with the installation of technological equipment to provide the following START

 

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02.09.2017 10:20
The specialists of FSUE "TsENKI" (part of the state corporation "Roscosmos") began installation of technological equipment for booster "Frigate" in the block constructions launch and technical complexes Vostochny cosmodrome. The equipment is made NPO. Lavochkin, it is installed in the premises of the command post, the launch facility and Launch complex operations and checkout building of spacecraft unified technical complex.
 
Complete installation and commissioning is planned before the end of April. Further, according to the technology, and they will be held autonomous Integrated test. Specialists of the FSUE "TsENKI" - KC "EAST" provide support for the work. Supervision for installation of technological equipment carried out by employees of the FSUE "TsENKI" - KB "Motor", FSUE "TsENKI" - NIISK, NPO. Lavochkin, NPC AP.

http://www.roscosmos.ru/23225/

 

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Commercial Launch of Proton-M Carrier Rocket Planned For Early April - Roscosmos

 

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A commercial launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket is planned for the beginning of April, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Igor Komarov said. Earlier, the engines of the second and third stages of the Proton-M carrier rockets were recalled at the Voronezh Mechanical Plant because of technical problems.

 

"We can say right now that the first launch ... the commercial launch of Proton will take place in early April ... and it will not affect the state order," Komarov told the Rossiya 24 television channel on Friday.

In January, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the launches of the Proton-M carrier rocket would be resumed within 3.5 months.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Commercial_Launch_of_Proton_M_Carrier_Rocket_Planned_For_Early_April___Roscosmos_999.html

 

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College # MIC reviewed the plan @ Roscosmos for development of advanced launch vehicles and strengthening the performance of leading enterprises

 

 

 

 

 

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More
At the launch site # East in g.Tsiolkovsky built and put into operation Medical Center @ FMBA_of_Russia 
https: // www. youtube.com/watch?v=S_3yWl 4Rpqw  ...

 

[BetaguyGZT]

Good stuff. Slowed down but not stopped completely. Just what we'd expect from our Russian counterparts.  

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

2 hours ago, Unobscured Vision said:

Good stuff. Slowed down but not stopped completely. Just what we'd expect from our Russian counterparts.  

We're slow to saddle our horses, but once it's been done, we like to ride awfully fast

[BetaguyGZT]

From our vantage point, you folks are good at pretty much everything and get it done quickly. A recall on engines with a 3 1/2 month turnaround? That's extremely fast. In our Space Program it would have been 2 years, and a mountain of bureaucracy finding out who to blame. Oh, and Congressional Hearings where nobody tells the truth in Upper Management because they don't want to jeopardize those fat contracts. Can't forget those. To them, it's money first and covering your rear end second. They'll throw Engineers into the flame trench before fessing up to wrongdoing or negligence.

 

So yeah -- you folks have it right, and good on you for it.  

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

 

New director on capital construction in Roscosmos

 

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Author: By Construction.RU

Andrei Borodin has been appointed executive director on capital construction of the Roscosmos state corporation.

 

As the corporation’s press-office has told Construction.RU today, earlier he was the Director General’s Councilor. He is followed by the former executive director on capital construction of the corporation, Vladimir Ivanov.

 

Also, Deputy General Director on economy and finance, Oleg Lobanov, has become a councilor. And Yury Polakov has been appointed to the post instead of him. Svetlana Kukina has been appointed executive director on corporative management, property relations and development.

 

To remind you, The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of Russia and general aerospace research.

 

Its headquarters are located in Moscow, it includes the main Mission Control space center, The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and the launch facilities. One of them is Vostochny Cosmodrome being built in the Russian Far East in Amur Oblast.

http://russianconstruction.com/news-1/26384-new-director-on-capital-construction-in-roscosmos.html

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

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RKS has developed a robotic system for automatic antenna tracking rockets - http: // www. roscosmos.ru/23241/ .

 

RKS. Robotic ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR SUPPORT launch vehicles

 

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14.02.2017 13:40
Holding "Russian Space Systems" (RCC, leads to the state corporation "Roscosmos") has developed and tested a remote controlled robot antenna complex for automatic tracking of carrier rockets of space appointment and receive data about the flight and operation of on-board systems. It is planned that the new facilities will be used during start-up with the Russian space centers, providing information about the status of the launcher at all phases of their flight.
 
High autonomy of the new antenna complex and remote management capabilities from a single workstation to manage multiple antennas located at a great distance along the flight path of the carrier rocket. This significantly improves the quality and efficiency of information support, and reduces the reaction of staff in case of emergency.
 
Chief Science and Technology Centre providing scientific and applied space experiments JSC "NPO measurement technology" (IT NGOs, is a holding company PKC) Gennady Saenko: "to create a complex multi-tasking smart complex, whose work does not require human intervention. Antenna automatically zooms to the booster for the signal emitted by the onboard telemetry system and accompanies it. This is monitored radio airplay, the coordinates of the resulting interference and adaptive radiation pattern is formed. "
 
The new complex is based on the technology of using a phased array antenna (PAA) and can work with all types of existing and emerging telemetry systems. With its creation it has been developed unified antenna modules - the basic elements of which can be created with different antenna systems efficiency. The basic version of the antenna for the new complex consists of 16 such modules installed on the slewing bearings.
 
The electronic part of the system is also standardized and consists of high-tech radio-electronic units, united by a common interface. This greatly increases the maintainability and modernization potential of the new antenna complex.
 
Holding RKS designs and develops automated ground control complex automated spacecraft, manned spacecraft and space stations. Means of ground-based information support is carried out launches of carrier rockets and boosters, as well as allow you to control up to 180 constellation of spacecraft. Daily ground automated complex ensures the implementation of more than 500 sessions of space vehicles for different purposes.

http://www.roscosmos.ru/23241/

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Energia to make 2 modifications of Federatsiya spaceship

 

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Russia's Energia rocket and space corporation is getting ready for the production of the Federatsiya spacecraft.

 

Russia's Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia is developing two modifications of the Federatsiya spacecraft, which could carry four or six cosmonauts respectively, the corporation's general director told Sputnik.

 

"We speak about the two versions of one spacecraft. We are developing a modification able to carry six people because it would make it possible to evacuate two extra crew members from the International Space Station in case of a serious emergency," Vladimir Solntsev said.

 

He added that at the moment the corporation had finished the engineering design phase.

 

According to the official, the corporation is currently preparing design documentation and getting ready for the production of the spacecraft.

 

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Russia Could Start Test of New Space Freighter in 2021

The first flight test of a new space freighter developed could be carried out by the end of 2021.

 

"We have finished the development of a concept design and it is now under a scientific expertise of Roscosmos [Russia's space corporation].

 

Following the results of a concept design development, the launch of the first test prototype of the space freight and start of flight tests are possible in the end of 2021," Solntsev said, adding that the construction of the space freighter depended on the decisions of Roscosmos.

 

He added that the spacecraft would be available to deliver up to 7,500 pounds of cargoes to an orbital station.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Energia_to_make_2_modifications_of_Federatsiya_spaceship_999.html

 

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Russian Aviation Company S7 Group restructures

 

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Russia's S7 Space Transportation Systems (STS) company, part of the S7 Group, has been given a license to conduct launches and other space activities in Russia, the firm said Monday.

 

"As early as this year, we plan to launch a Zenit-M rocket from the Baikonur spaceport, with STS providing analytic integration and other assistance in the launch process as well as ensuring cooperation between international enterprises in the run-up to the launch," the statement read.

 

S7 Group is Russia's largest private aviation company, comprising a dozen of air transportation and maintenance firms, including S7 Airlines.

 

In September 2016, S7 Group signed a contract with a Swiss-based company, Sea Launch, to purchase its assets - the Sea Launch Commander ship, the Odyssey spacecraft launch platform and ground-based facilities at the US Port of Long Beach.

 

The transfer of the Sea Launch offshore launch platform to S7 Group provided its space transportation daughter with an "entrance ticket" to the space industry, the company said. It plans to carry out up to 70 launches in the next 15 years.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russian_Aviation_Company_S7_Group_restructures_999.html

 

[BetaguyGZT]

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Russia Could Start Test of New Space Freighter in 2021

The first flight test of a new space freighter developed could be carried out by the end of 2021.
 
"We have finished the development of a concept design and it is now under a scientific expertise of Roscosmos [Russia's space corporation].
 
Following the results of a concept design development, the launch of the first test prototype of the space freight and start of flight tests are possible in the end of 2021," Solntsev said, adding that the construction of the space freighter depended on the decisions of Roscosmos.
 
He added that the spacecraft would be available to deliver up to 7,500 pounds of cargoes to an orbital station.

/me looks at LH/M and Boeing ... uh huh. Essentially 12 years to properly design and build 'em, eh. $6~9 billion dollars to develop and build ... and Russia is doing more with less. Yeap .. methinks someone is milking Bessie.

[DocM]

Iridium paid Russia to launch their final batch of satellites on a Dnepr, it was cancelled by Russia and it now looks like they've lost the money.

 

This caused them to buy an 8th flight from SpaceX, to be ride-shared with a German DLR/NASA satellite.

 

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

ISC Kosmotras

 

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International Space Company (ISC) Kosmotras (a Joint Stock Company) was established in 1997 under the Russian law. The company’s head office is located in Moscow, Russia.
Primary area of ISC Kosmotras business operations is linked to implementation of the Russian Program for Elimination of the SS-18 Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that are being withdrawn from service and used in the Dnepr Space Launch System (SLS) for commercial orbital launches of payloads.
Since the first Dnepr launch in April 1999, ISC Kosmotras has been actively present on the world launch services market. To date, 22 orbital flights were performed and the total number of payloads launched amounted to 128. The launch service customers were space agencies and commercial companies from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UK, USA, Thailand, South Korea and other countries.
Russian and Ukrainian governments have recognized the ISC Kosmotras achievements by awarding the state prizes in the sphere of science and engineering to the top managers and key experts of the Dnepr Program.

http://www.kosmotras.ru/en/company/

 

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Siberian plant to start assembling Angara rockets this year — governor

 

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SOCHI, March 1. /TASS/. Polyot, an Omsk-based rocket manufacturer within the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, will launch the full cycle of assembling Russia’s new Angara rocket this year, Omsk governor Viktor Nazarov said.

 

"From 2017, the Angara rocket will be assembled in the Omsk Region only. Works to launch the full technical production cycle is currently under way," the governor said at the Russian Investment Forum that ended in Sochi on Tuesday evening.

The production facility is due to be ready in the second quarter of 2017, the governor said.

The Angara family comprises eco-friendly oxygen-kerosene carrier rockets from the light to heavy classes. The Angara-class light carrier rocket was launched for the first time in mid-2014. The first heavy carrier rocket blasted off in late 2014.

 

http://tass.com/science/933336

 

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February 25, 2017 year space industry of modern Russia marks 25 years http://www.roscosmos.ru/23276/

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

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Center them. Khrunichev is developing a new fairing with a diameter of five meters for the RN "Proton"https: // www. roscosmos.ru/23303/ 

 

 

MI CENTER. Khrunichev. NEW fairing to modify the "Proton"

 

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07.03.2017 16:30
im.M.V.Hrunicheva Center (. Khrunichev Khrunichev) and its wholly owned subsidiary - International Launch Services (ILS), which has the exclusive right for marketing and commercial exploitation of the family "Proton" - extend the capabilities of the implementation of spacecraft launches (CA) for various purposes due to the commissioning of the launch vehicle modifications (RN) "Proton", equipped with large-size fairing with a diameter of five meters.
 
Five-meter fairing will be used as part of the "Proton-M" (with the upper stage "Breeze-M") and "Proton Medium" (two-stage modification of the middle class "Proton-M") for launch in the interest of commercial customers. The launches of commercial satellites with the help of "Proton-M" and "Proton Middle" with five-meter diameter payload fairing will be possible with the first quarter of 2020.
 
Five-meter fairing with increased capacity to accommodate the payload will allow output to the calculated orbit satellites latest large broadband high-speed communications and clusters of two spacecraft, as well as to group multiple launches of low-orbit satellites.
 
Offer new fairing - the answer im.M.V. Center Khrunichev ILS and on the needs of customers who are interested in creating additional opportunities for the removal of payload based on advanced spacecraft designs.
 
In 2016 im.M.V.Hrunicheva Center completed work on the definition of design and technology shape fairing larger diameter. In the next phase of the program provides extensive development project fairing diameter of 5 meters and a base length of 16.25 meters, selected based on the needs of commercial customers. The new fairing will pass the full test program, including the aerodynamic simulation, static, dynamic strength and acoustic tests, tests on the valves opening and reset.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/23303/

 

 

The ultimate Proton-M-Plus

 

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The Proton-M-Plus (a.k.a. Proton-M+) will complete Russia's commercial workhorse rocket family, carrying the largest and heaviest payloads assigned to the booster. Its most recognizable feature will be the bulbous payload fairing protecting the payload during the initial ascent.

 

Russian workhorse rocket family (left to right): Proton-M, Proton-Medium, Proton-Light and a pair of Proton-M+ variants with two types of 5-meter payload fairings.   RussianSpaceWeb.com

 

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Proton-M-Plus concept

 

Plans to develop the Proton-M-Plus variant emerged in 2016, alongside the Proton-Light and Proton-Medium concepts. Proton-M-Plus will be able boost payload mass delivered to the geostationary orbit up to seven tons. The rocket could also feature two types of enlarged payload fairings reaching 5.1 meters in diameter and made out of metal rather than composite materials. They would be used to accommodate the largest payloads, weighing as much as seven tons, won by the Proton fleet, including the so-called High-Throughput Satellites, HTS, delivering broadband communications. The new fairing could also be used to deliver dual payloads into the geostationary orbit or clusters of multiple satellites into the low Earth's orbit.

 

On March 7, 2017, the International Launch Services, ILS, which markets Proton to commercial customers, announced that GKNPTs Khrunichev completed its feasibility study initiated in 2016 on the use of 5-meter fairing. ILS promised to make the enlarged fairing available on Proton-M and on Proton-Medium variants in the first quarter of 2020. According to the company, the next phase of the program has begun with the start of detailed design activities for the enlarged fairing with a selected baseline length of 16.25 meters to envelope the projected commercial satellite market requirements, while minimizing the impact on the rocket's design. (The selected length of the fairing was apparently a compromise between 17.25 and 15.25-meter designs, which had been considered in 2016.)

 

The new fairing "will undergo a rigorous test program including aerodynamic modeling, static and dynamic structural tests, separation and jettison tests, and acoustic testing,” the ILS said.

 

Fairings proposed in 2016 for future upgrades of the Proton family.  russianspaceweb.com

 

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Other improvements

 

In addition to the enlarged fairing, during 2016, developers considered other minor design and flight profile changes aimed to reduce operational costs and to marginally improve lifting capabilities of Proton.

 

Proton-M-Plus was expected to rely on a domestically built separation system used to eject satellites from the upper stage at the conclusion of the orbital insertion. In addition, avionics of the Baza-RB tracking system, used to measure orbital parameters of the upper stage, could be omitted to save mass.

 

To win a few hundred kilograms in additional payload, developers could also forfeit the standard paint job on at least some of rocket's components, as it had been tried before on a few mass-demanding missions.

 

In a more drastic payload-boosting measure, Proton-M-Plus could be programmed to enter an initial parking orbit with an inclination of 46 degrees toward the Equator, rather than the 51.6-degree inclination currently practiced in Proton missions. However, this shift would require an agreement with China to drop the vehicle's first stage on its territory.

 

Apparently, there are also plans to shorten the rocket's warranty, while certifying it for flight without prior firing tests of its engines. However it is unclear, whether military certification authority, which oversees the manufacturing process within the Russian space industry, would approve such a measure.

 

In addition, the rocket could be manufactured without a standard kit of spare parts, as has been customary until this day.

 

As of 2016, the Proton-M-Plus could enter operations in 2020, possibly becoming the most powerful variant of the rocket by the time of the family's expected retirement in the mid-2020s and its replacement with the Angara fleet.

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton-m-plus.html

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

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To expand the information on the launch sites, history and life of running web-sites and Baikonur East https: // www. roscosmos.ru/23317/ 

 

TsENKI. Baikonur cosmodrome SITES AND EAST

 

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14.03.2017 13:23

To expand the information on the spaceports, its history, people and life TsENKI (Spaceports Russia, part of the state corporation "Roscosmos") launches web-sites Baikonur Cosmodrome and EAST: baikonur.russian.space ,  vostok.russian.space .
 
The information provided on the websites, addressed journalists, experts, partners and anyone interested in the industry.
 
Here - the most current information about the spaceport launch services, news and important events, development prospects.
 
The site Vostochny cosmodrome - the story of the first civilian spaceport modern Russia, the life of the new city TSIOLKOVSKY and the Amur region.
 
And visitors are waiting for the Baikonur Cosmodrome Baikonur 3D version of the museum - a panoramic tour with "visits" and explore all the exposition and exhibition halls, the memorial houses of Sergei Korolev and Yuri Gagarin, and exhibits located within the complex. The draft circular 40 (360 degrees) panoramas, more than 230 interactive exhibits and exposition about 250 exhibits with the annotation.
 
Baikonur Cosmodrome - the world's first and largest cosmodrome. It located on the territory of Kazakhstan and is leased by Russia until 2050 With the launch site The launch of the "Union", "Proton" and others.
 
Spaceport EAST - the first civilian spaceport Russian - built in the 8 thousand kilometers from Moscow and 180 kilometers from Blagoveshchensk. Its area is about 700 square kilometers. April 28, 2016 from Baikonur, the first launch of the carrier rocket "Soyuz-2.1a".

https://www.roscosmos.ru/23317/

 

Websites...

 

baikonur.russian.space

 

vostok.russian.space

 

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Proton-Medium concept gets major revision

 

 

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In 2017, the plan to build a lighter version of the Proton rocket saw a major simplification, in an effort to keep cost of upgrades down and to save development time. The latest architecture unveiled at the beginning of March was limited to the removal of the third stage, instead of the much-larger booster of the second stage, which was a candidate for elimination in the original proposal for the Proton-Medium design. Moreover, the Proton-Light concept, which had been previously proposed for development in parallel with the Proton-Medium, now appeared to be abandoned.

 

The 2017 incarnation of the Proton-Medium design kept the rest of the basic Proton-M architecture largely unchanged. In order to integrate the payload section of the Proton-Medium rocket with the second stage, it would need a modified forward adapter, which previously interfaced with the now-absent third stage. On the Proton-Medium, the equipment section, housing avionics for guidance, navigation and flight control of the rocket, will migrate from the eliminated third stage to the top of the second stage.

 

When required, the Proton-Medium could also feature the newly proposed enlarged fairing with a diameter of five meters, which was promised to become available for the Proton-M and Proton-M-Plus variants in the first quarter of 2020.

 

Unlike the previous Proton-Medium design, the latest incarnation will require only minimum upgrades to the service tower that provides access to the rocket on the launch pad. This movable structure is now expected to receive a new access platform, which will likely be used by personnel to connect thermal-conditioning hoses to the tip of the payload fairing on the shorter rocket, and a new deck on the opposite side of the tower.

 

All other modifications to the launch and processing infrastructure of the Proton rocket are expected to be minor. However, in the long run, the revised design of the Proton-Medium could be more expensive than the originally proposed architecture, because of the higher cost of the second stage, which is being retained under the new plan, compared to a much smaller third stage to be eliminated.

 

The launch profile proposed for the Proton-Medium rocket will remain largely unchanged, with the first stage separating two minutes into the flight and falling some 500 kilometers downrange from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. The payload fairing would split into two halves and jettison 4.3 minutes after launch to fall in Southern Russia, 1,612 kilometers from Baikonur. In the absence of the third stage, the second stage will burn until 5.5 minutes in flight and after its separation at a near-orbital velocity, it will reenter the atmosphere and crash in the Pacific Ocean. In the meantime, the Briz-M upper stage will take over the powered ascent, performing a routine five-burn flight scenario to deliver its payload into the geostationary transfer orbit.

 

The payload capabilities announced for the latest incarnation of the Proton-Medium design remained the same as they had been originally projected in 2016. The Proton-Medium also remained on schedule for its first launch at the end of 2018, its developers said.

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/proton-medium.html#2017

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

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Working visit of Dmitry Rogozin, Igor Komarov and Early Djuraeva Spaceport # East -https: // www. roscosmos.ru/23342/ .

 

ROSCOSMOS. WORKING VISIT Spaceport EAST

 

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03.21.2017 12:59
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of the state corporation "Roscosmos" Igor Komarov, Director General of FSUE "TsENKI" (Spaceports Russia) Early Juraev and specialists Roscosmos enterprises visited Baikonur EAST - examined the technical and launch complex, where there is an installation of technological equipment for the booster "Frigate"; We assessed the progress of construction works on the basis of the Metrology and Technical Engineering building complex.  
 
During the visit, the opening ceremony of a new clinic in the city of Tsiolkovsky. Therapeutic and diagnostic department clinics equipped with the latest modern facilities, for example, in X-ray cabinet installed remote-controlled digital X-ray system "Omega" at the three working places, which allows as X-rays and X-rays to form a volumetric 3D-image. There are also rooms mammography and fluoroscopy, and a day hospital. The fully equipped dental offices, offices of eye doctor, ENT doctors and many other specialists.
 
Thereafter, under the leadership of Dmitry Rogozin held a meeting on the construction of Spaceport EAST. On the results of the working visit of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, reported via teleconference at a meeting of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's government and invited him in September to visit the spaceport and the city of Tsiolkovsky.  

https://www.roscosmos.ru/23342/

 

credit Roscosmos

 

 

credit Roscosmos

 

 

credit Roscosmos

[DocM]

O-M-G 

 

AIUI, it's not just defective or wrong metals but techs have also been using the wrong solders and brazing media.

 

/sigh....

 

https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/defects-found-in-almost-every-russian-proton-rocket-engine-57584

 

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Defects Found in Almost Every Russian Proton Rocket Engine

 

Russian rockets are crashing at an astonishing rate. Engine defects abound.

 

An investigation into quality control issues in the Russian space industry has discovered that nearly every engine currently stockpiled for use in Proton rockets is defective, the RIA Novosti news agency reported March 30, citing Igor Arbuzov, head of state rocket engine manufacturer Energomash.

 

71 engines, mostly used to power the second and third stages of the Proton rocket, require complete overhauls to remove defects. Arbuzov did not specify what was wrong with the engines. In January, Interfax reported on an investigation into high-quality metals swapped by a plant manager for cheaper alternatives.

>

>

 

 

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

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An investigation was launched into workers at the plant where Proton rockets are manufactured, resulting in a factory worker being charged in 2015 for violating construction safety codes.

 

"The sensors fit in special slots, and thanks to this they can only be installed in one position," an unidentified source told Izvestia at the time. "However, if you apply force, a sensor can be put into the space upside down," he said.

Cherchez la femme - surprised the worker in question was a female, a strong Siberian lady, must have been hung over.

[BetaguyGZT]

17 hours ago, DocM said:

O-M-G 

 

AIUI, it's not just defective or wrong metals but techs have also been using the wrong solders and brazing media.

 

/sigh....

 

https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/defects-found-in-almost-every-russian-proton-rocket-engine-57584

 

 

####. That's gonna hold up the show.  Aren't some of these also the engines that get used in S3 and S4 of Soyuz? I'll have to look them up.

 

[EDIT] Ok. Guess not.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Happy Cosmonautics Day! aka the International Day of Human Space Flight!

[DocM]

/sigh

 

 

[BetaguyGZT]

Whelp' ... that one isn't going up.  ####.

[DocM]

Clearly, it was stored about as well as the NK-33's Orbital bought for Antares 200 

[BetaguyGZT]

/sigh  Apparently there are some further issues with the quality of their sourced materials. I'm beginning to think it's sourced materials now, because items in dry storage -- properly stored -- should never degrade like that. Especially oxidation or metal fatigue.

 

Corners cut = bite ya in the ### later, fellas.

[FloatingFatMan]

Someone's been pocketing roubles methinks...

 

[DocM]

1 hour ago, FloatingFatMan said:

Someone's been pocketing roubles methinks...

 

Wouldn't surprise me, it's happened at various Russian space centers and in the building of Vostochny itself.  

 

No space agency anywhere is perfect, but what's happened to the Russian space program the last 20 years is tragic, almost Shakespearian. I'm half expecting Lady Macbeth to walk on stage.

[BetaguyGZT]

3 hours ago, FloatingFatMan said:

Someone's been pocketing roubles methinks...

 

 

1 hour ago, DocM said:

Wouldn't surprise me, it's happened at various Russian space centers and in the building of Vostochny itself.  

 

No space agency anywhere is perfect, but what's happened to the Russian space program the last 20 years is tragic, almost Shakespearian. I'm half expecting Lady Macbeth to walk on stage.

Sad thing is there's probably more to come.  The mess with the engines being defective -- nearly all of them -- and now the new Science Module is essentially scrap after all the time and work that went into it ... it makes me want to vomit from sheer disappointment. THE most robust space hardware on Earth being treated with such disrespect ... ugh.

 

And yes, Russia, that's how we in the West view your space hardware. Robust and practical. And we weep over the setbacks. We're your fans, believe it or not.

 

So have a drink, take a breath, gather your thoughts, and fix what needs to be fixed. You folks can do this, and you all have our well-wishes and our support.  

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

On 5/2/2017 at 3:04 PM, Unobscured Vision said:

Sad thing is there's probably more to come.  The mess with the engines being defective -- nearly all of them -- and now the new Science Module is essentially scrap after all the time and work that went into it ... it makes me want to vomit from sheer disappointment. THE most robust space hardware on Earth being treated with such disrespect ... ugh.

 

And yes, Russia, that's how we in the West view your space hardware. Robust and practical. And we weep over the setbacks. We're your fans, believe it or not.

 

So have a drink, take a breath, gather your thoughts, and fix what needs to be fixed. You folks can do this, and you all have our well-wishes and our support.  

There's no denying it, the corruption is a big problem. Last year, A FEDERAL FRIGGING MINISTER was caught red-handed taking a bribe....But you didn't hear about it in the news most likely. Somehow the western media tends to save all the Russia criticism for Putin.

 

So, how do you govern people? Specifically, how do you oversee the servants of the state?

 

Although I'm a pacifist at heart, I'm beginning to lean towards the Stalinist or the Singaporean method of dealing with the problem nowadays:  you steal one million from the state - you get a bullet in the head. The end. It's my firm belief that this is a very effective approach of getting the message across. After a few high-profile executions, the public servants will turn on their brains and start to think twice.

 

Singapore is one of the least corrupt country these days, but they executed a lot of folks in the early nineties. However, Russia has a moratorium put in place on capital punishment.