Russian Space Agency

18 Stories

Cosmonaut Sets Record for Doing 'What I Love'

Oleg Kononenko tops 878 days in orbit since 2008

(Newser) - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has broken the world record for the most cumulative time spent in space, Russia's space agency Roscosmos reported Sunday. The 59-year-old has now spent more than 878 days and 12 hours in space, surpassing fellow Russian Gennady Padalka, who set the previous record of 878...

Russia Launches Rescue Mission to Space Station

Sends up empty Soyuz to bring home astronaut, 2 cosmonauts after their ride home was damaged

(Newser) - Russia launched a rescue ship on Friday for two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut whose original ride home sprang a dangerous leak while parked at the International Space Station. As the AP reports, the new, empty Soyuz capsule should arrive at the orbiting lab on Sunday. The capsule leak in...

Residents of 'Space Island' Tell Elon Musk to Stay Away

Biak Island elder says supporting Indonesian spaceport would mean 'sponsoring' genocide

(Newser) - Residents of a small island in Indonesia aren't too pleased to learn that their government has offered up their land to SpaceX boss Elon Musk. Indonesia President Joko Widodo has been encouraging Musk to build a rocket launch site in his country for months, per AFP . Biak's location,...

Russia Has 2 Space Glitches Within Hours

Including the loss of a satellite being blasted into orbit

(Newser) - Russia's space agency is having a very bad day. First, one of its spaceships attached to the International Space Station was supposed to fire up its engines and shift the ISS into a higher orbit, but the engines failed to start, reports AP . The cause is unclear, but those...

Russian Rocket Crashes in Kazakhstan

Unmanned Proton-M kaput seconds after lift-off

(Newser) - A Russian rocket carrying three satellites fell apart and crashed in a huge ball of flame seconds after lift-off this morning, spilling 170 tons of toxic fuel near Kazakhstan's Baikonur launch facility. The Proton-M rocket was unmanned and although it crashed near the launch pad, where personnel were in...

Russia Suspects Spacecraft Was Shot Down

Failed Mars probe may have been hit by weapon, says official

(Newser) - Russia suspects sinister forces may have been at work in the failure of its Phobos-Grunt probe, which was supposed to make it to one of Mars' moons. The probe was launched in November, but it failed to make it out of low orbit , and is now plummeting Earth-ward instead. The...

Space Station May Be Forced to Go Unmanned

Would be first time in a decade

(Newser) - The failure of a Russian spaceship, which crashed back to Earth shortly after its launch last week, could lead to the International Space Station being unmanned for the first time since 2001. Russian engineers are trying to determine why the unmanned ship crashed, but they only have a short time...

Space Station Will Plunge Into Pacific After 2020

Station won't be left to become space junk

(Newser) - The International Space Station's grave will be a watery one, not a cosmic one. The colossal orbiting outpost will be deliberately crashed into the Pacific Ocean when it reaches the end of its working life some time after 2020, AP reports. "It cannot be left in orbit, it'...

A Day Late, Soyuz Lands in Kazakhstan

Despite earlier glitch, landing goes flawlessly

(Newser) - Russia's Soyuz space capsule safely touched down in a Kazakhstan steppe this morning, reports the AP, landing flawlessly a day after being delayed by an undocking glitch with the International Space Station. "That was almost a bull's-eye landing," said a NASA spokesman as Russian officials swarmed the landing...

Russia: We'll Save Earth From Asteroid

Space agency confirms secret talks are in works

(Newser) - A 1,150-foot asteroid on a collision course with Earth could create a France-sized desert in 2036—unless Russian scientists can avert the catastrophe. No, it’s not the plot of a science-fiction movie; the head of Russia’s space agency confirms secret talks are in the works to prevent...

Tourist, Crew Dock at Space Station

Garriott will perform experiments, take photos from space

(Newser) - American space tourist Richard Garriott arrived safely at the International Space Station today for a 10-day visit, Space.com reports. “I can fly!” Garriott told Russia’s command center, where former NASA astronaut and dad Owen watched his son become the first second-generation space-traveler. Also aboard the Soyuz...

An Other-Worldly Brew on Tap
 An Other-Worldly Brew on Tap 

An Other-Worldly Brew on Tap

Japanese brewery to craft beer whose barley comes from space-traveling seeds

(Newser) - Want to try a heavenly lager? Come November, you might get a chance. Japan's Sapporo Breweries is harvesting barley this weekend from seeds that spent 5 months aboard the International Space Station, the AP reports. It then plans to brew 100 bottles of space beer, though it hasn't figured out...

Red Planet of the Apes?
Red Planet
of the Apes?

Red Planet of the Apes?

Russia auditions monkeys for possible trip to Mars, drawing activists' ire

(Newser) - The first mammal on Mars may be a monkey. Russia is testing radiation and weightlessness effects on macaques for a possible trip to the red planet. Scientists also want to see how the animals react to isolation and the special diet the 520-day mission would require, reports the BBC. Twelve...

South Korea's First Astronaut Docks at ISS

Nation paid $25M to shoot her to the space station

(Newser) - South Korea’s first astronaut arrived at the International Space Station today, and her country must be relieved—having paid $25 million to get her there, Space.com reports. The South Korean president called So-yeon Yi’s mission a “stepping stone” in that country’s fledgling space program; lacking...

Russian Rocket Fails to Put US Satellite in Orbit

Booster failure leaves it short of the altitude telecom device needed

(Newser) - A Russian rocket was unable to launch a US telecommunications satellite into its designated orbit yesterday, the AP reports. The rocket fell 5,000 miles short of its goal of 22,400 miles when the rocket's second booster turned off too early. The satellite could have reached its destination on...

Astronauts Will Have to Hitch Rides With the Russians

NASA will soon have no way to get to ISS

(Newser) - When NASA retires its fleet of space shuttles in 2010, the agency will have no way of sending men into space until 2015, at the earliest, the Washington Post reports. To carry astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, largely funded by American taxpayers, the US will have to...

Russia Tests 'Real World: Mars'
Russia Tests 'Real World: Mars'

Russia Tests 'Real World: Mars'

6 cosmonauts will spend 520 days in isolation on simulated journey

(Newser) - In a sort of extraterrestrial edition of MTV's "Real World," Russia will lock six would-be cosmonauts in a "spaceship" for 520 days in a simulated voyage to Mars. As Russian scientists test the effects of extended isolation, participants will spend 2 years growing their own vegetables,...

Russia Shoots For the Moon
Russia Shoots For the Moon

Russia Shoots For the Moon

Cash-strapped space agency aims to send a man to the moon by 2025

(Newser) - Russia has announced a plan to put a man (or woman) on the moon by 2025, reports ABC. The cash-strapped Russian space agency also plans a permanent moon base and a Mars mission. "The Russians have some big ideas, but their space program is coming up slowly from being...

18 Stories