. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
Russia loses contact with satellite after launch from new spaceport
By Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV
Vostochny, Russia (AFP) Nov 28, 2017


Russia said it had lost contact Tuesday with a weather satellite just hours after it was launched from its Vostochny cosmodrome, in only the second rocket liftoff from the new spaceport.

The glitch is a fresh embarrassment for Russia's beleaguered space programme which has suffered a series of setbacks over recent years as Moscow seeks to ease dependence on the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

"During the first scheduled communication session with the space vehicle, contact has not been established because it is not on its planned orbit," the Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.

"Information is currently being analysed."

The statement did not provide further details and its representatives declined immediate comment.

Marking another milestone after the inaugural liftoff last year, the Soyuz rocket carrying the Meteor weather satellite and other equipment took off at 2:41 pm (0541 GMT) from far eastern Russia.

"All the initial stages of the rocket's flight went according to plan," Roscosmos said after the liftoff.

National television broadcast live footage of the launch, showing the rocket taking off into a grey sky in the Amur region near the Chinese border.

Apart from the weather satellite, the rocket carried 18 payloads from institutions and companies in Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany, Sweden and Norway, the space agency said.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that such contracts would help Russia modernise its space industry.

"The launch of foreign devices with the help of Russian launch vehicles should strengthen our positions on the global market of space services and increase the volume of extra-budgetary funds and investments," Medvedev told a meeting.

The first launch from Vostochny spaceport took place in April 2016, with President Vladimir Putin overseeing the take-off.

It represented a major development for the country's space sector, with the new cosmodrome touted to mark a rebirth of an industry plagued by a string of embarrassments.

In December last year, an unmanned Progress ship carrying supplies lost contact with Earth minutes after blast-off and burnt up in the atmosphere over Siberia.

In April 2015, a failed Progress launch was also blamed on a problem with the Soyuz rocket, a space workhorse dating back to the Cold War-era.

- Launches 'will grow' -

The third launch from Vostochny is scheduled for December 22.

"The programme of launches will continue next year - it will grow, increase," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees space, told Medvedev on Monday.

The Kremlin's goal is to ease Russia's dependence on Baikonur in Kazakhstan, a launchpad Moscow has been forced to rent since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia is also home to the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the north, which is used for satellite launches and missile testing.

But Vostochny, like Baikonur, is closer to the equator, making launches cheaper and more energy-efficient.

The new cosmodrome currently has one launchpad for the Soyuz, the only rocket currently being used for manned space flights.

Rogozin said he planned to chair a meeting at the launchpad set to address a second construction phase that will see the country build a reinforced launchpad for the new Angara rocket.

The launch of the Angara, which is being tested to replace the ageing Proton workhorse rockets, is scheduled for 2021.

Construction on the new spaceport began in 2012 but has been marred by labour disputes, corruption scandals and delays.

The first satellite launch had been scheduled for late 2015, but setbacks forced authorities to review the timetable.

In October, Russia launched from Plesetsk a European satellite dedicated to monitoring the Earth's atmosphere, the protective layer that shields the planet from the sun's radiation.

ROCKET SCIENCE
Russia to build launch pad for super heavy-lift carrier by 2028
Moscow (Sputnik) Nov 29, 2017
The development of the Vostochny Cosmodrome will reduce Russia's dependency on Kazakhstan's Baikonur spaceport, which it is leasing until 2050. Russia plans to build a launch pad for its "super heavy-lift rocket by 2028," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said at a government meeting. In August, Igor Komarov, the head of Roscosmos State Space Corporation, said that the lau ... read more

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ROCKET SCIENCE
New motion sensors major step towards cheaper wearable technology

Does the Outer Space Treaty at 50 need a rethink

NASA to send critical science, instruments to Space Station

Can a magnetic sail slow down an interstellar probe

ROCKET SCIENCE
Russia to build launch pad for super heavy-lift carrier by 2028

Mechanisms are critical to all space vehicles

Russia loses contact with satellite after launch from new spaceport

Flat-Earther's self-launch plan hits a snag

ROCKET SCIENCE
Gadgets for Mars

Ice shapes the landslide landscape on Mars

Winds Blow Dust off the Solar Panels Improving Energy Levels

Previous evidence of water on Mars now identified as grainflows

ROCKET SCIENCE
Nation 'leads world' in remote sensing technology

China plans for nuclear-powered interplanetary capacity by 2040

China plans first sea based launch by 2018

China's reusable spacecraft to be launched in 2020

ROCKET SCIENCE
Orbital ATK purchase by Northrop Grumman approved by shareholders

UK space launch program receives funding boost from Westminster

Need to double number of operational satellites: ISRO chief

Space Launch plans UK industry tour

ROCKET SCIENCE
Saab intros augmented reality training tool for military

New way to write magnetic info could pave the way for hardware neural networks

Device could reduce the carbon footprint of ethylene production

Researchers inadvertently boost surface area of nickel nanoparticles for catalysis

ROCKET SCIENCE
Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula reveals a cryptic methane-fueled ecosystem in flooded caves

Researchers prolong life by curbing common enzyme

First known interstellar visitor is an 'oddball'

Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere

ROCKET SCIENCE
Pluto's hydrocarbon haze keeps dwarf planet colder than expected

Jupiter's Stunning Southern Hemisphere

Watching Jupiter's multiple pulsating X-ray Aurora

Help Nickname New Horizons' Next Flyby Target









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.