Author of Russia in Space; journalist, illustrator. Clients: Popular Mechanics, Aviation Week, Air & Space Smithsonian, Aerospace America & others.
Joined August 2009
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7,153 Photos and videos
Jun 11
Russian Academy of Sciences made a formal decision to extend the work of the Spektr-RG X-ray observatory (stationed in an Earth-Sun Lagrange point) for 5 more years. It is the only major scientific/astrophysics spacecraft operated by Russia, following its launch in 2019...
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Jun 11
...Its predecessor — Spektr-Radioastron orbital radio telescope — worked from 2011 to 2017: russianspaceweb.com/spektr_r…
Our home page on the Spektr-RG projet: russianspaceweb.com/spektr_r…
TASS lifespan extension story: tass.ru/kosmos/27714997
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Jun 11
...The official life span of the Spektr-RG observatory at the time of its launch in 2019 was reported to be 6.5 years...
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Jun 10
Progress MS-34 cargo ship (docked at the air-leaking PrK compartment) conducts its first ISS orbit correction: russianspaceweb.com/progress…
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Visualization for the altitude over time for the first 16-satellite cluster of the "Russian Starlink", including one reentered object:
Jun 6
Russia launched 16 Rassvet-3 comms sats on Mar 23. One of them appears to have failed immediately and reentered today over the North Atlantic. Six are raising orbits; eight others are making small maintenance burns. The remaining sat last reboosted on May 8,may also be in trouble
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First "Russian Starlink" (launched in March) likely fell back to Earth today due to lack of maneuvers to counteract atmospheric drag, while unconfirmed rumors circulate about next launch into the constellation on June 18.
CONTEXT: russianspaceweb.com/spacecra…
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It feels like there is some lack of coordination between NASA and Roskosmos and the US space agency has to improvise its reaction to Russian moves:
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Anatoly Zak retweeted
Jun 5
Roscosmos has paused Friday’s structural repair efforts inside the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, as more measurements and data is assessed. Given this development, NASA has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station. We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks.
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Sounds like the latest attempt to fix the air leak aboard the Zvezda Service Module is considered risky enough for all non-Soyuz crew members on the ISS to be inside Dragon spacecraft, while cosmonauts conduct the work in the PrK chamber:
Jun 5
The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date. The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely. NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts.
Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5. Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency's SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway.
We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution.
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Chief designer at Russia's prime piloted spacecraft developer made a few interesting remarks at a conference last week. For one, the return of future crew missions to ISS orbit prompted another look at exotic sea-gliding rescue vehicles descending from Soviet-era "sea monsters":
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...more details, photos and extensive technical background on the next-generation search and rescue operations is in our subscription section: russianspaceweb.com/insider-…
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Anatoly Zak retweeted
May 29
This is my video of the explosion of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket at Cape Canaveral’s pad LC-36 a short time ago. Includes video & audio from roughly 5 miles away near Jetty Park. That was an absolutely enormous explosion! 🤯
Note: Thankfully, Blue says all staff are OK.
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Anatoly Zak retweeted
May 29
We experienced an anomaly during today's hotfire test. All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.
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May 28
Russia's oil giant Gazprom is selling its satellite production & mission control center. The move is portrayed as getting rid of "non-core assets" even though just 2 years ago, Gazprom promised observation and communications satellite families, whose fate is now unclear.
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May 27
Cosmonauts aboard the ISS to conduct VKD-66 spacewalk today. Will chronicle it here:
russianspaceweb.com/iss-vkd6…
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May 27
...it appears that some kind of large object had detached from the ISS during today's spacewalk (right):
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May 27
Two cosmonauts reentered the Poisk module after the VKD-66 spacewalk today. Full story and updates today and tomorrow: russianspaceweb.com/iss-vkd6…
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