DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ India closes in on moon landing as Russia also races to lunar south pole
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Nivedita Bhattacharjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Indian space agency launched the rocket carrying the spacecraft on July 14, blasting off from the country's main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Rough terrain is expected to complicate a landing on the lunar south pole. A previous mission by India's space agency, the Chandrayaan-2, crashed in 2019 near where the Chandrayaan-3 will attempt a touchdown. Both India and Russia have national interests in successful landings and in claiming the historic first at stake. Russia's space agency Roscosmos has said the Luna-25 mission would spend 5-7 days in lunar orbit before descending to one of three possible landing sites near the pole.

Persons: Roscosmos, Luna, Narendra Modi's, Nivedita, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: ISRO, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, LM, Indian Space Research Organisation, Luna, India's, Skyroot Aerospace, Thomson Locations: Russia, Andhra Pradesh, India, Ukraine, Bengaluru

☆ Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft enters lunar orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 blasts off from a launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, August 11, 2023. The Luna-25 entered the moon's orbit at 11:57 a.m. (0857 GMT), Russia's space corporate Roskosmos said. India's Chandrayaan-3 entered the moon's orbit earlier this month ahead of a planned touchdown on the south pole of the moon later this month. No Russian spacecraft has entered lunar orbit since Luna-24, the Soviet Union's 1976 moon mission, according to Anatoly Zak, the creator and publisher of www.RussianSpaceWeb.com which tracks Russian space programmes. "Entering lunar orbit is absolutely critical for the success of this project," Zak told Reuters.

Persons: Luna, India's, Anatoly Zak, Zak, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Cawthorne, Bernadette Baum Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Rights, NASA, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, Soviet

☆ Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft enters lunar orbit -space agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Roscosmos/Vostochny Space Centre/Handout via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Russia's lunar spacecraft entered the moon's orbit on Wednesday, a major step towards the country's ambition of being the first to land on the moon's south pole in the search for frozen water. The Luna-25 entered the moon's orbit at 11:57 a.m. (0857 GMT), Russia's space corporate Roskosmos said. India's Chandrayaan-3 entered the moon's orbit earlier this month ahead of a planned touchdown on the south pole of the moon later this month. No Russian spacecraft has entered lunar orbit since Luna-24, the Soviet Union's 1976 moon mission, according to Anatoly Zak, the creator and publisher of www.RussianSpaceWeb.com which tracks Russian space programmes. "Entering lunar orbit is absolutely critical for the success of this project," Zak told Reuters.

Roscosmos/Vostochny Space Centre/Handout via REUTERS/File photoMOSCOW, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday switched on the scientific instruments aboard its lunar lander and scientists began processing its first data as the space craft sped towards the moon in a bid to be first to find ice on the Earth's only natural satellite. As it hurtles towards the moon, which is 384,400 km (238,855 miles) from our planet, the scientific instruments were switched on with the first data on the flight measured, Russia's space agency said. "The first measurement data on the flight to the Moon has been obtained, and the project's scientific team has begun processing it," Roscosmos said. There is much riding on the Luna-25 mission for Russia: if it succeeds, Russia is likely to say it shows that the West's sanctions over the Ukraine war cannot hold Russia back. But failure would again raise questions over Russia's space ambitions after the decades of superpower space competition with the United States during the Cold War.

Persons: Russian Luna, Roscosmos, Luna, Neil Armstrong, Guy Faulconbridge, Ros Russell Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Sunday, India, Soyuz, Luna, Moscow, NASA, United States, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, MOSCOW, Russian, Russia's, Ukraine, United States, Soviet, Moscow, Soviet Union, China

Russia said that it would launch further lunar missions and then explore the possibility of a joint Russian-China crewed mission and even a lunar base. NASA has spoken about a "lunar gold rush" and explored the potential of moon mining. The conditions of the moon mean robots would have to do most of the hard work, though water on the moon would allow for long-term human presence. It has not been ratified by any major space power. The United States in 2020 announced the Artemis Accords, named after NASA’s Artemis moon program, to seek to build on existing international space law by establishing “safety zones" on the moon.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge, Peter Graff Organizations: NASA, European Space Agency, 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Boeing, United Nations, RAND Corporation, Artemis Accords, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, United States, China, India, Russian, Sun, Amur

☆ Russia is racing to beat the US, India, and China to the south pole of the moon in its first lunar mission since the 70s
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If successful, it could be the first to do a soft landing on the south pole of the moon. Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, launched the Luna-25 mission on Friday morning from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Reuters reported. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket is carrying a lander, which Roscosmos will try to land on the south pole of the moon on August 21, Reuters reported. The south pole is a crucial strategic objectiveRussia isn't the only nation vying for the south pole. Russia's ambitious return to the moon was delayed by invading UkraineRussia's Luna-25 mission, the first moon mission in over a decade, aims to put a rover on the south pole of the moon.

Persons: Roscosmos, Lev Zeleny, Luna, Maxim Litvak, Peter Byrne, Ukraine Russia's Luna, space.com Organizations: Service, Russia, Luna, Vostochny, Reuters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute, NASA, REUTERS Luna, European Space Agency Locations: Russia, India, China, Wall, Silicon, Amur, Liverpool, Ukraine, Handout, Luna

☆ Russia's Moon Mission and the New Space Race
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Wsj Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Americans and Russians, as well as astronauts from other countries, have been regularly living and working together in space, first in the Shuttle-Mir program and now on the International Space Station (pictured). The future of U.S.-Russian cooperation in space, however, is less certain following the invasion of Ukraine. Roscosmos/Associated Press

Organizations: Mir, Space, Associated Locations: U.S, Ukraine

☆ Russia launches moon lander in race to find water on moon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 blasts off from a launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, in this still image from video taken August 11, 2023. Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Thursday, in a bid to be the first power to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold coveted deposits of water ice. The launch was livestreamed by Russia's space agency. Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joey Roulette, Jamie Freed Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, Handout, REUTERS WASHINGTON

The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month, and more broadly with the United States and China, both of which have advanced lunar exploration programs targeting the lunar south pole. The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on Aug. 21, Russia's space chief Yuri Borisov told Interfax on Friday. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen," Borisov told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax. A Japanese lunar landing failed last year and an Israeli mission failed in 2019. No country has made a soft landing on the south pole.

Persons: Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, Borisov, Luna, Asif Siddiqi, Neil Armstrong, Maxim Litvak, Guy Faulconbridge, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, Gerry Doyle Organizations: India, Soyuz, Luna, Vostochny, NASA, Kremlin, Space, European Space Agency, Fordham University, Reuters, 2.1b, REUTERS U.S, European Union, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, United States, China, Vostochny cosmodrome, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Amur, Handout, Soviet, Soviet Union, India, Japan, Washington

☆ Russia will launch its first lunar lander since 1976
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Russia is preparing to launch Luna 25, the country’s first lunar lander in 47 years. Hitching a ride aboard a Soyuz-2 Fregat rocket, Luna 25 is expected to take flight at 8:10 a.m. local time Friday, or 7:10 p.m. Russia’s last lunar lander, Luna 24, landed on the moon on August 18, 1976. Initially, Roscosmos and the European Space Agency planned to partner on Luna 25, as well as Luna 26, Luna 27 and the ExoMars rover. The mission is India’s second attempt to land at the lunar south pole after Chandrayaan-2 crashed into the moon in September 2019.

Persons: India’s, Roscomos, ”, Artemis III, “ We’re, Bill Nelson, “ There’s, Nelson, “ Organizations: CNN, Vostochny, Soyuz, YouTube, Roscosmos, Luna, Reuters, NASA, European Space Agency, ESA, Soviet Locations: Russia, Amur Oblast, Russian, Ukraine, Chandrayaan, India, United States, Soviet Union, China, Mars, Soviet

☆ Russia is evacuating a village that may be hit by falling rocket debris as it prepares for its first moon landing in almost 50 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

On Friday, Russia returns to lunar exploration with its first expected moon landing since 1976. But one village in Russia's Far East, which could be hit by falling rocket debris, is being evacuated. The village falls within the potential impact zone of the launch, making the evacuation necessary, he added. After a hiatus of nearly 50 years, Russia will launch its first lunar landing spacecraft on Friday. Scientists believe the south pole of the moon contains a lot of water ice, which astronauts could potentially mine for rocket fuel.

Persons: Alexei Maslov, Luna, Maslov, Yuri Borisov, Borisov Organizations: Residents, Service, Vostochny, Google, Reuters, Agence, Press, AFP Locations: Russia, Russia's Far, Wall, Silicon, Shakhtinsky, Russia's Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk region's Verkhnebureinskyi, Moscow, Agence France, India

☆ Russia to evacuate village for first lunar lander mission in half century
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/File PhotoAug 7 (Reuters) - Russia will evacuate a village in its far east on Aug. 11 as part of the launch of Russia's first lunar lander mission in nearly half a century, a local official said on Monday. The Luna-25 lunar lander, Russia's first since 1976, will be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, some 3,450 miles (5,550 km) east of Moscow, according to Russia's Roscosmos space agency. Luna-25 will launch on a Soyuz-2 Fregat booster and will be the first lander to arrive on the South Pole of the moon, Roscosmos has said. The lander is expected to operate on the lunar surface for one year. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kirill Kudryavtsev, Luna, Russia's, Alexei Maslov, Roscosmos, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russian Soyuz, REUTERS, Vostochny, Thomson Locations: Russian, Lomonosov, cosmodrome, Uglegorsk, Blagoveshchensk, Amur, Russia, Moscow, Russia's Khabarovsk, Verkhnebureinskyi, Khabarovsk, Shakhtinskyi, Melbourne

☆ BRICS group: Russia proposes joint research module on space station for China, India, Brazil and South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The head of Russia’s space agency has extended an offer to Moscow’s partners in the BRICS group – Brazil, India, China and South Africa – to participate in the construction of a joint module for its planned orbital space station, state media reported Monday. Construction of the planned space station follows Moscow’s decision last year to end its decades-long partnership with NASA and withdraw from the aging International Space Station – one of the last remaining channels of cooperation between Russia and the United States. The offer to broaden cooperation on the project to include BRICs partner nations was made by Yuri Borisov, the director-general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, during a meeting Monday in Hermanus, South Africa. Yuri Borisov, director-general of Russian space agency Roscosmos, on September 7, 2020. The International Space Station, which has been continuously occupied for more than 22 years, was originally a collaboration between the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency.

Persons: Vladimir Kozhevnikov, Yuri Borisov, “, Borisov, Omar Sanadiki, Mir Organizations: CNN, South Africa –, NASA, Russian Orbital, BRICS, Space, European Space Agency Locations: Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Russia, United States, Hermanus, Soviet Union, Japan, Canada

☆ Russia offers BRICS partners a module on its planned space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A view shows a model of a new Russian orbital space station at the international military-technical forum Army-2022 at Patriot Congress and Exhibition Centre in the Moscow region, Russia August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File PhotoJuly 24 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's space agency on Monday suggested Moscow's partners in the BRICS group - Brazil, India, China and South Africa - could build a module for its planned orbital station, the Interfax news agency reported. Reporting from a BRICS meeting on space cooperation in Hermanus, South Africa, Interfax said it was "assumed" that the first module of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) would be launched in 2027, with construction completed by 2032. By then, the International Space Station - one of the last forums of cooperation between Washington and Moscow as Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent relations to a post-Cold War low - is likely to have been decommissioned. Roskosmos said last August that its new space station would consist of six modules and a service platform, to accommodate up to four cosmonauts, and be built in two phases.

Persons: Maxim, Yuri Borisov, Roskosmos, Borisov, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Patriot Congress, Exhibition, REUTERS, Russian, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Hermanus, Washington, Ukraine

☆ Russia says it's snagged the intact parts of a Storm Shadow missile, and can now study the British-made munition that's been devastating its operations in Ukraine from long range
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia said on Thursday that it's obtained intact parts of a downed Storm Shadow missile. "The Storm Shadow missile, shot down by Russian forces in the Zaporizhzhia region, was brought to Moscow for study," Russian state news agency TASS reported. Describing the missile as a "trophy," TASS wrote that Russian authorities had already received the Storm Shadow parts and are inspecting them. Rogozin said Ukraine shelled the area around the downed missile and sent troops to block Russian forces from securing the Storm Shadow parts, per TASS. "The two-day operation to evacuate the captured Storm Shadow has been successfully completed," read a caption for the Telegram post.

Persons: it's, —, Dmitry Rogozin, Rogozin, Storm Shadow, Ukraine —, Ben Wallace, Ursula von der Leyen, Elliot Napier Organizations: Storm Shadow, Service, Russia, Storm, TASS, Telegram, intel, UK Ministry of Defense, Russia's Ministry of Defense, European Commission, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Russian, Zaporizhzhia, Moscow, British, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Study reveals how immune system of astronauts breaks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] The International Space Station (ISS) is photographed by Expedition 66 crew member Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov from the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, in this image released April 20, 2022. "A weaker immunity increases the risk of infectious diseases limiting astronauts' ability to perform their very demanding work in space. Gene expression in 247 genes in leukocytes was at about one third the normal levels while in space, the study found. Before this paper, we knew of immune dysfunction but not of the mechanisms," said study co-author Guy Trudel, an Ottawa Hospital rehabilitation medicine specialist. Discovering altered gene behavior in leukocytes is "a significant step toward understanding human immune dysregulation in space," Trudel added.

Persons: Pyotr Dubrov, Odette Laneuville, Guy Trudel, Trudel, Epstein, Barr, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Space, Expedition, Soyuz, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, University of Ottawa, Canadian Space Agency, NASA, Ottawa Hospital, Thomson Locations: Handout, Canada, Ottawa

☆ Scientists document how space travel messes with the human brain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The International Space Station (ISS) photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking, October 4, 2018. Age-related ventricular enlargement - caused not by microgravity but by brain atrophy - can be associated with cognitive decline. This headward fluid shift likely results in ventricular expansion, and the brain sits higher within the skull." The study involved 23 male and seven female astronauts - average age around 47 - from the U.S., Canadian and European space agencies. Microgravity conditions also cause other physiological effects due to the reduced physical load on the human body.

Persons: Heather McGregor, Rachael Seidler, Seidler, McGregor, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Space, Expedition, Soyuz, NASA, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, of Florida, University of, Thomson Locations: Handout, University of Florida, U.S

☆ NASA chief sees Russians and Americans together on space station through 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Joe SkipperOTTAWA, April 25 (Reuters) - NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Tuesday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but said in Ottawa that he expected Russians and Americans to work together on the International Space Station (ISS) until it is decommissioned. American-Russian space cooperation was put in doubt after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Yuri Borisov, the director-general of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, surprised NASA by announcing in July 2022 that Moscow intended to withdraw from the space station partnership "after 2024." And I expect that to continue all the way through the end of the decade, when they we will then de-orbit the space station." The space station was born in part from a foreign policy initiative to improve American-Russian relations following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cold War hostility that spurred the original U.S.-Soviet space race.

☆ OneWeb 'moves on' from Soyuz-stranded satellites as its network nears completion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dmitry Rogozin said at the time that his agency wanted OneWeb to provide guarantees that its satellites were not going to be used against Russia. But it has been unable to retrieve the satellites from their Soyuz launchsite at the Russia-owned Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellites are worth a combined $50 million, OneWeb chief executive Neil Masterson said Tuesday. OneWeb, which manufactures at least two satellites per day, had another batch of 36 satellites ready for launch soon after cancelling Soyuz, Masterson said. Asked if Russia's custody of the commercially sensitive technology raises security or competitive concerns for OneWeb, Masterson said: "It's not a material problem."

[1/5] NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission, that includes NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, the United Arab Emirates Sultan Al-Neyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, launches to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 2, 2023. The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule called Endeavour, lifted off at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Fellow NASA astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg, 37, an engineer and commercial aviator designated as the Crew 6 pilot, was making his first spaceflight. The Crew 6 team will be welcomed aboard the space station by seven current ISS occupants - three U.S. NASA crew members, including commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman to fly to space, along with three Russians and a Japanese astronaut. An empty replacement Soyuz to bring them home arrived at the space station on Saturday.

[1/2] A Falcon 9 rocket is readied for another launch attempt for NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission after a technical delay, which will take four crew members to the International Space Station, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 1, 2023. The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule called Endeavour, was set for liftoff at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The four-man crew should reach the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting some 250 miles (420 km) above Earth, about 25 hours after launch, early on Friday morning. Crew 6 also is notable for its inclusion of UAE astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, 41, only the second person from his country to fly to space and the first to launch from U.S. soil as part of a long-duration space station team. The Crew 6 team will be welcomed aboard the space station by seven current ISS occupants - three U.S. NASA crew members, including commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman to fly to space, along with three Russians and a Japanese astronaut.

☆ Russian Soyuz spacecraft docks at ISS to bring back stranded crew
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft blasts off from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan February 24, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERSFeb 26 (Reuters) - A Russian spacecraft on a mission to bring back to Earth a crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has docked at the station, Russian space agency Roscosmos said early on Sunday. The Soyuz MS-23, which lifted off from Baikonour space centre in Kazakhstan on Friday, is to bring back Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, and U.S. astronaut Francisco Rubio in September. "Today at 03:58 Moscow time (00:58 GMT), the Soyuz MS-23 unmanned spacecraft docked to the Poisk module of the International Space Station in automatic mode," Roscosmos said on the Telegram messaging platform. The Soyuz MS-23 ship carried 429 kilograms (946 lb) of additional cargo to the station, needed to extend the astronauts' mission, Russian agencies reported.

☆ Russian Soyuz spacecraft starts mission to return crew stranded on ISS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERSFeb 23 (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off on Friday on a mission to bring back to Earth a crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) by a leak in the cooling system of their original return capsule, Russian news agencies reported. They were left stuck in space after the cooling system of their Soyuz MS-22 capsule started leaking two months ago. Russian space agency Roscosmos said this week the trio would now return to Earth aboard Soyuz MS-23 in September. The damaged MS-22 spacecraft is now scheduled to land without a crew in March. Tass quoted a Russian space official as saying the amount of food sent was three times the amount normally dispatched for such missions.

☆ Russia says stranded astronauts to return from ISS in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that three astronauts left stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) by a leak on their return capsule last year would land back on Earth in a Soyuz MS-23 replacement capsule in September. "(Their return flight) is now scheduled to take place on Soyuz MS-23 in September 2023," Russian space agency Roscosmos said. The Soyuz MS-23 replacement capsule will launch on Feb. 24 and will dock with the ISS on Feb. 26, it said. The damaged MS-22 spacecraft is planned to land without a crew in March. "Micrometeoroid impacts on a spacecraft or orbital station have happened before, but unlike with the Soyuz MS-22, they have never had such serious consequences."

The SWIFT global payments system block and the freezing of more than $300 billion worth of central bank reserves abroad took Russia by surprise. The top executive at the top-20 Russian bank said Moscow was unprepared in particular for liquid assets being blocked and euro and dollar swaps becoming unavailable. "No one expected that the central bank would come under sanctions, and that it would be unable to help with foreign currency liquidity at that difficult moment," they said. 'BEST FRIEND'For banks, central bank support was crucial to weathering the initial hit to their business. The central bank's forecast is more restrained, at around 1 trillion roubles.

Search resuls for: "Roscosmos"

25 mentions found