Tag Archives: Russia

One of the more notable space stories of the past week is that of two Russian satellites allegedly 'stalking' a KH-11 reconnaissance satellite operated by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). 

The Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) has started the planned training programme of Indian astronaut candidates under the contract between Glavkosmos, JSC (part of the State Space Corporation Roscosmos) and the Human Spaceflight Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The United States is alleging that two Russian satellites are stalking a U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) reconnaissance satellite in low-Earth orbit (LEO), and has formally complained about the matter to the Russian government according to numerous press reports.

The first European device to land on the Moon this decade will be a drill and sample analysis package, and the teams behind it are one step closer to flight as part of Russia's Luna-27 mission.

Kazakhstan has revealed that it intends to stand up and establish its own satellite manufacturing capabilities and industry with the aim of being able to build and launch its own communications and Earth observation satellites, as well as scientific and technological testbed spacecraft.

OneWeb, the UK-headquartered global satellite communications company, is scheduled to launch its second batch of 34 satellites on 6-7 February 2020 on board a Soyuz 2.1B satellite launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Russia is willing to assist the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan in developing its second satellite and in the selection, training, and launch of the first Turkmen astronaut, according to Yuri Baturin – vice president of the Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonauts, politician, and a former cosmonaut – during a visit to the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on 25 January 2020.

Iran is believed to be preparing to launch two satellites from its Imam Khomeini Satellite Launch Centre over the coming days, according to numerous reports in Iranian and international news media.

The President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, met with senior executives from French aerospace company Thales Group in Switzerland on 20 January 2020 in order to discuss several areas of interest in high technology, according to various reports in the Armenian press.

Russia, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to proceed with a trilateral agreement to modernise the 'Gagarin's Start' launch complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to a 16 January 2020 report in Azerbaijan's Trend News Agency citing Russian and Kazakh sources.