..NASA says it will bring Commercial Crew-11 back to Earth prematurely due to a "medical incident" with one of the astronauts on the crew. The ISS will remain under control of a Soyuz crew...

The Soviet electronic intelligence sat Ikar No. 42L (cover name Kosmos-1606), launched in 1984, reentered at 1717 UTC Jan 2 over Baja California

Roskosmos published a photo of the full Earth taken by the Arktika-M2 satellite from an unusual above-the-North Pole vantage point, thanks to the satellite's highly-elliptical (egg-shaped) orbit stretched in northern direction. Context: www.russianspaceweb.com/arktika-m2.h...

A "non-failure" explanation for odd drifting of Tundra satellites might be a transition to a new orbit-maintenance mode, which sacrifices positioning accuracy for a longer life span, in the absence of new launches to the EKS constellation. CONTEXT: www.russianspaceweb.com/eks-network....

THE 21st CENTURY, the 1st quarter. We are looking forward to continuing our one-of-a-kind independent coverage of space program and wanted to remind that the best way to support this unique project is to subscribe to our exclusive INSIDER CONTENT section: russianspaceweb.com/insider-cont...

A Soyuz rocket lifts off from Vostochny with a pair of Aist-2T observation satellites and 50 secondary payloads: www.russianspaceweb.com/aist2t.html

Russia is apparently failing to rebuild the Soviet-era satellite constellation for early warning about ballistic missiles launches, most likely due to inability by the industry to complete new satellites hit by sanctions and financial problems: russianspaceweb.com/eks.html

It appears the Russian Defense Ministry's Olimp-K (Luch, 2014-058A) sat has finally been retired, after visting 30 separate geostationary locations during its suspected eavesdropping mission. The orbit was raised to the graveyard from Oct 7 to Oct 22. The plot shows the sat's orbit height history

Roskosmos announces (sort of) delay of the 1st Soyuz-5 test flight, posts visuals of a fully integrated rocket in the assembly building at Site 42 in Baikonur (note the absence of the transporter-erector system, which is likely the main culprit for the delay): www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz5-lv.html

A Soyuz rocket lifts off from Plesetsk, carrying the first Obzor-R1 radar-imaging satellite. DETAILS, UPDATES: russianspaceweb.com/obzor-r1.html

A classified launch from Plesetsk tomorrow is expected to carry the first Obzor radar satellite, so here is my attempt to interpret its design, along with more details and updates on the mission: russianspaceweb.com/obzor-r1.html

Roskosmos completed assembly and encapsulation of the payload section for the Aist-2T imaging satellite, along with a cluster of secondary payloads, including an Iranian satellite(s) (center) and multiple cubesats (left) for Dec. 28 liftoff: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html#aist

Moscow-based Buro-1440 releases in-orbit pic of its precursor Internet satellite ("Russian Starlink") shot by a fellow spacecraft from a distance of 800 meters (artist depiction for comparison). Trio of Rassvet test satellites was launched in 2024: russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft-m...

The planned launch of the Science and Power Module, NEM, on a Proton rocket will require a custom-built payload arrangement with some record-breaking dimensions. Exclusive details (subscription): russianspaceweb.com/insider-cont...

Roskosmos promises restoring the collapsed service platform at the only operational Soyuz pad in Baikonur "by the end of winter" clearing the way for a Progress cargo launch to ISS as early as March 11. Some photos of repair work are also published (cont.): russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_r7_...

A total of 3 campaigns in Baikonur, advertised for launch in December, have now been pushed into 2026: •Progress MS-33 due to launch pad damage; •The Soyuz-5 first flight due to ground equipment delays; •Proton/Elektro-L5 due to computer failure; russianspaceweb.com/2026.html

A pair of Aist-2T imaging satellites arrived at Vostochny spaceport in preparation for launch on a Soyuz rocket. Roskosmos has not yet announced the launch date, but it is believed to be December 28: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html#aist

Computer problem delays Monday's Proton launch. Details: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html#el...

Pad personnel struggled to secure the mobile platform before last month's botched Soyuz launch but proceeded to liftoff anyway so not disappoint bosses and tourists, according to unofficial reports. DETAILS: russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_r7_...

Unknown pages of the Moon Race: the latest chapter in our illustrated history of the L3M project (subscription): russianspaceweb.com/insider-cont...

Roskosmos reports completion of booster stages assembly for the launch of the Aist-2T remote sensing spacecraft and a cluster of hitchhiker payloads, including 3 Iranian satellites, from Vostochny expected on Dec. 28, but not yet officially confirmed: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html

he Elektro-L5 weather satellite was encapsulated under its payload fairing ahead of its integration with a Proton rocket scheduled to launch from Baikonur on December 15: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html#el...

Soyuz MS-27 to land in Kazakhstan tonight. DETAILS, UPDATES: russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-27....

...Here is the updated rendering of the ROS complex immediately after its planned separation from the ISS, as it is envisioned right now, after the latest redesign in recent weeks and a Roskosmos "deal" with India. Details, updates at the usual place: russianspaceweb.com/insider-cont...

I did this drawing in 2020, but it is super-relevant again: russianspaceweb.com/ros.html

Soyuz MS-27 landing info for Monday (confirmed by NASA): russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-27....

Russian military plans to launch a Soyuz-2 rocket with a classified payload from Plesetsk into a near-polar orbit between Dec. 11-16, based on the latest sea and air traffic warnings: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html

55 YEARS AGO TODAY: russianspaceweb.com/l1e-2.html

Russian engineers are feverishly auditing resources on ISS in the wake of the service platform collapse in Baikonur on Thursday. We explain the implications of the accident and available options to our subscribers with exclusive details: russianspaceweb.com/insider-cont...

Yours truly quoted by the New York Times again (a very dangerous habit for them): www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/s...

A rocket fails at Dombarovsky (Yasny) launch site, which is home for R-36M and UR-100NU ICBMs: russianspaceweb.com/dombarovskiy...

Russia's only pad for crew launches suffers major damage: russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_r7_...

Soyuz MS-28 lifts off from Baikonur. Updates: russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-28....

Soyuz MS-28 is reported ready for launch from Baikonur (Kazakhstan) at 4:27 a.m. EST (12:27 MSK). Updates: russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-28....

South Korea launches the KSLV-2 rocket built domestically with Ukrainian expertise. Details (subscription): russianspaceweb.com

NASA and ESA revive the ExoMars project after Europe dropped Roskomos hardware (and with it killed the last opportunity for Russia to put its lander on the Red Planet in many decades). DETAILS: russianspaceweb.com/exomars-rove...

Footage of yesterday's Angara-1.2 mission showed presence of the URM-2 booster (bottom right) in the assembly building in Plesetsk, indicating a potential preparation for another Angara-5 launch: russianspaceweb.com/angara_urm2....

The Soviet N1 Moon rocket was so secret that even contractors directly "interfacing" with the vehicle had to speculate (sometimes not very successfully) how the mammoth machine looked like. CONTEXT: www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_ene...

Roskosmos reports a successful launch of the Angara-1.2 rocket from Plesetsk with multiple payloads for the Ministry of Defense. This is the sixth mission of the light-weight vehicle DETAILS, UPDATES: www.russianspaceweb.com/angara1-flig...

55 YEARS AGO TODAY: The USSR secretly tests a one-seat lunar lander in Earth's orbit. Full story of the mysterious Moon Race mission finally told based on newly revealed archival data and, as always, exclusively illustrated by yours truly (subscription): russianspaceweb.com/insider-cont...

The Soyuz MS-28 crew vehicle has been fully integrated with its (very colorful) rocket and ready for rollout to launch pad tomorrow early morning local time in Kazakhstan. Updates: russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-28....

Soyuz MS-28 encapsulated for launch ahead of integration with the rocket; its crews do final fit checks in the cockpit. (BTW, those tech drawings in the hands of a specialist in the photo are also in our INSIDER CONTENT section! ;) DETAILS: russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-28....

My old article about Meteor family: russianspaceweb.com/meteor.html

The Meteor-Priroda No. 2-4 remote sensing satellite, launched by the USSR on 1981 Jul 10, reentered over Antarctica at 0918 UTC 2025 Nov 20 after 44 years in orbit

An expected reversal by Roskosmos on its post-ISS space station orbit has major implications for the new-generation crew vehicle escape and rescue scenarios. DETAILS (subscription): russianspaceweb.com/insider-cont...

The Progress MS-32 cargo ship, docked at ISS, conducts its first orbit correction for the station, to provide an upcoming crew exchange. Details: russianspaceweb.com/progress-ms-...

50 YEARS AGO TODAY: russianspaceweb.com/soyuz20.html

A New Glenn rocket lifts off on its 2nd test mission with a pair of Mars orbiters. This is the 171st US orbital (incl. fractional orbit) launch attempt in 2025: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html

Couple of interesting shots from yesterday's "fit checks" inside the Soyuz MS-28 crew vehicle at Baikonur (mini-thread) ->