JRL NEWSWATCH: “Elizabeth Warren Demands Probes of Elon Musk, SpaceX After Ukraine Revelations” – Bloomberg

File Photo of Elon Musk, adapted from image at nasa.gov, with photo credit to Bill Stafford

“Warren calls on Pentagon to look into decision over attack Musk, other tech chiefs will meet with senators on Wednesday” “… Warren is demanding an investigation into SpaceX after Elon Musk acknowledged he had blocked Ukraine from extending the private Starlink satellite network for an attack on Russian warships near the Crimean coast. … Musk said. ‘… If I had […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “China and Russia team up to establish joint moon base” – Asia Times

File Photo of Surface of Moon with Earth in Distance, adapted from NASA image

China and Russia’s plans can be seen as a response to their exclusion from the U.S. Artemis Accords […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian-Chinese pact to explore the moon is another sign the U.S. must change its approach to Moscow” – CNBC/ Frederick Kempe

File Photo of Surface of Moon with Earth in Distance, adapted from NASA image

“… Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, signed an agreement with the Chinese National Space Administration[] to create an International Scientific Lunar Station ‘with open access to all interested nations and international partners[,]’ … the most dramatic sign yet that Moscow sees its space future with China and not the United States, further underscoring … growing strategic alignment with Beijing. … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia and China in Talks About Building a Joint Moon Research Base” – CNS/ Dimitri Simes

File Photo of Surface of Moon with Earth in Distance, adapted from NASA image

“Looking to strengthen … space cooperation with China amid heightened geopolitical tensions with the United States, Russia is in talks with Beijing about the possibility of building a joint lunar research base. Dmitry Rogozin … head of … Roscosmos, held talks recently with … China National Space Administration[] director Zhang Kejian. He … [stated in an state television interview] that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S., Russia Hold Talks on Space Security” – Wall Street Journal/ Michael R. Gordon

Space in Low Earth Orbit with Partial Sun

“Two space powers are at odds over goals, with U.S. seeking voluntary norms, Russia aiming for a treaty” “The U.S. and Russia … [are holding] their first space-security talks since 2013 … [addressing] how to guard against the increasing militarization of space. [The] Trump administration … hoped … the [Vienna] meeting … would lead to … voluntary norms … and […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Despite SpaceX Success NASA Will Pay Russia $90 Million To Take U.S. Astronaut To The ISS” – Forbes/ Jamie Carter

International Space Station file photo

“NASA plans to pay … Russian space agency [Roscosmos] to launch one of its astronauts – and Russian cosmonauts will likely travel to space from Florida next year. … [A]fter … two NASA astronauts went to the International Space Station … from U.S. soil for the first time in almost a decade … it’s definitely not the end of [U.S.-Russian] […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “For Russia, SpaceX success is ‘wakeup call’ – AFP

File Photo of SpaceX Manned Launch, from image at nasa.gov with credit to Bill Ingalls

Russia has lost its long-held monopoly … ferry[ing] astronauts to the International Space Station following the flawless manned launch by U.S. company SpaceX. … [E]xperts said the launch should be a wakeup call for Roscosmos. […]

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Putin, Trump discuss by phone G7 summit, Covid-19, oil market

Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

… Putin and … Trump have discussed in a telephone call the situation surrounding Covid-19, the Crew Dragon spacecraft launch, the Group of Seven (G7) summit, as well as the situation on the oil market, the Kremlin press service said. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s rocket man set for return to virus-plagued planet; Covid-19 was unheard of when Commander of International Space Station left earth” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy

International Space Station file photo

“The 22-year old space station, which conducts research and scientific studies into space 400km above the Earth, is one of the most prominent examples of U.S.-Russian co-operation, under … joint management of Russia’s space agency and … NASA …. Russia’s Roscosmos is determined to stick to its rocket launch and return schedule to keep the ISS functioning and fully equipped […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S.-Russian Crew Blasts Off for International Space Station” – AP

International Space Station file photo

“A U.S.-Russian space crew blasted off Thursday to the International Space Station following a tight quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos’ Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner lifted off as scheduled … from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan …. The International Space Station is currently operated by Russian Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronauts Jessica Meir […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Space crew to go to ISS on April 9 to skip some traditional pre-launch procedures because of coronavirus” – Interfax

International Space Station file photo

ZVYOZDNY GORODOK, Moscow region. March 12 (Interfax) – The members of a space crew scheduled to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 9 will have to skip a number of traditional pre-launch events as a measure to minimize the coronavirus spread risk, Pavel Vlasov, the chief of the Cosmonaut Training Center, told journalists on Thursday. To avoid […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia willing to cut Soyuz crews for US ISS flights” – Interfax

International Space Station file photo

(Interfax – Oct. 31, 2019) The head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, has said it is prepared to reduce the crews manning the Soyuz spacecraft to make room for U.S. astronauts travelling to the International Space station (ISS). Rogozin said Nasa head Jim Bridenstine had spoken to him about accommodating US crews on the Soyuz in 2020-2021, the […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Robot FEDOR returns to Korolyov” – Interfax

International Space Station file photo

MOSCOW. Sept 10 (Interfax) – The Soyuz MS-14 landing capsule carrying the humanoid robot FEDOR, which returned to the Earth on Saturday, has returned to Korolyov. “I am back in Korolyov together with the landing capsule,” FEDOR wrote on Twitter, and posted a video showing the process of his extraction from the capsule. “I am glad to meet with specialists […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia, an Early Space Pioneer, Never Regained Its Lead; The U.S. leapfrogged the Soviet Union by landing a man on the moon 50 years ago this month, and kept its place ever since” – Wall Street Journal/ Ann M. Simmons

International Space Station file photo

“Russians still brim with pride over being the first nation to send a human into space.  Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin … circling the Earth in 1961[] remains a national hero whose story is taught to Russian schoolchildren. But ever since the U.S. leapfrogged the Soviet Union by landing a man on the moon 50 years ago this month, Russia has […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian, US Officials Say Space Cooperation Remains Strong” – AP/ Washington Post

International Space Station file photo

“Russian and U.S. space officials hailed the joint work of their programs Monday and said cooperation remains strong despite political tensions …. Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin and Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA’s human explorations and operations, said after a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the International Space Station that their agencies plan to collaborate on developing a moon orbiting […]

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Nuclear Near Miss: Remembering the ‘Man Who Saved the World’

Space in Low Earth Orbit with Partial Sun

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – September 21, 2018 – russiamatters.org/blog/nuclear-near-miss-remembering-man-who-saved-world) Next week marks 35 years since America and Russia narrowly avoided fighting a nuclear war—the kind that “cannot be won and must never be fought,” in the words of Ronald Reagan. It wasn’t the first time the two nations lived through such a close call, and stories […]

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The Hole Truth: U.S.-Russia Space Dustup Threatens Rare Frontier Of Cooperation

International Space Station file photo

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Matthew Luxmoore – MOSCOW – Sept. 14, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/the-hole-truth-u-s–russia-space-dustup-threatens-rare-frontier-of-cooperation/29489976.html) On August 29, disturbing data from a Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft docked at the International Space Station (ISS) reached the mission control centers in Houston and Moscow. The shuttle was losing oxygen, flight operators noted, and pressure inside […]

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RUSSIALINK: “NASA may ask Russia for additional Soyuz seats due to delayed U.S. ships’ certification – source” – Interfax

International Space Station file photo

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) – The United States may fail to certify its manned spaceships before August 2020, in which case NASA will need additional seats on Russian Soyuz ships, according to the United States Government Accountability Office. “Additional delays could result in a gap in U.S. access to the space station as NASA has contracted for seats on the […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Rogozin, U.S. ambassador agree politics should not hinder space cooperation” – Interfax

International Space Station file photo

MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax) – Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Rogozin and U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman have met in Baikonur to discuss the future of bilateral cooperation in space projects, the state corporation’s press service said in a statement. [Rogozin] has had a working meeting with NASA Deputy Administrator William Gerstenmaier and U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman; the […]

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RUSSIALINK: “U.S. launches Ukrainian-made Antares rocket with cargo resupply ship to ISS” – Interfax

International Space Station file photo

KYIV. May 21 (Interfax) – A medium-size Antares rocket developed and built in Ukraine has been successfully launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from a space center in the United States under a NASA contract. “The Orbital ATK Antares rocket with Cygnus spacecraft lifted off Monday, May 21, at 4:44 a.m. EDT on a contracted cargo resupply mission to […]

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Ten Signs Putin and His Russia have Serious Problems

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 21, 2018) Vladimir Putin and his country are in far deeper trouble than the Moscow media he controls or than the Western media which all too often relies on what the Putin outlets say and views his standing and that of his country almost exclusively as a derivative of what the […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Political Tensions Could Rob the U.S. of the Russian Rocket Engine It Desperately Needs; The United States has become increasingly reliant on the RD-180” – Popular Mechanics/David Grossman

File Photo of Atlas Rocket on Launch Pad

“The burgeoning private space industry might find itself caught in the middle of geopolitical tensions …. Russian lawmakers have drafted a law that would ban cooperation … on building rocket engines, including … the crucial RD-180. … [that] powers the Atlas V, the launch system maintained by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint company owned by both Lockheed Martin and […]

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New York Times Covers Russia [Headlines & Links]

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

October 3, 2017 ‘Look Up! Sputnik!’ 60 Years Later By MICHAEL KHODARKOVSKY https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opinion/sputnik-cold-war-space-race.html [“America’s response in 1957 was a huge investment in space technologies; within 12 years, it had put the first men on the moon. Today, too, a major investment in cybersecurity by a much wealthier and more innovative West might remind Moscow that it cannot afford or win […]

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Cooperation in Space Can Still Bridge Differences Between U.S. and Russia

International Space Station file photo

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Pavel Luzin – August 29, 2017) Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of History and Political Science at Perm University Pavel Luzin holds a PhD in political science. He is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of History and Political Science at Perm University. In 2013-2014 he was a at the Institute of World Economy and […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with Valentina Tereshkova

File Photo of Valentina Tereshkova in Space Suit with Helmet Open, adapted from image at starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov

(Kremlin.ru – March 6, 2017) Vladimir Putin extended his birthday greetings to Valentina Tereshkova, pilot cosmonaut, the first woman in space, Hero of the Soviet Union, and State Duma deputy. The President issued an executive order awarding the Order For Services to the Fatherland I Degree to Ms Tereshkova, deputy chairperson of the State Duma Committee for Federal Organisation and […]

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RUSSIALINK TASS: “Russian-US experiment to simulate outer space mission named SIRIUS”

Space in Low Earth Orbit with Partial Sun

“A series of joint experiments by NASA and the Moscow-based Institute of Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) to simulate a flight to the outer space was named SIRIUS, an acronym for Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station. …”

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NEWSWATCH: “Russia, U.S. Mulling Joint Mission to Venus” – Space.com/Mike Wall

Planet Venus file photo, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“Russia’s space program and NASA are working together on a mission to Venus that would investigate some of the scorching-hot planet’s biggest mysteries, including, perhaps, whether it harbors life. An international team of scientists tasked with fleshing out the main goals of the mission, which is known as Venera-D, is wrapping up its work and will deliver its final report […]

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Interfax: Military-industrial complex capacity should not be used to produce pans, needs to target demands of healthcare, energy sectors – Putin

File Photo of Russian Tanks in Military Parade

TULA. Sept 8 (Interfax) – While manufacturing the hi-tech civil products, the Russian military-industrial complex should target the needs of the healthcare, energy, aircraft and ship construction, space and information technology sectors, it is unacceptable to produce frying pans on high-grade equipment, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “Our military-industrial complex certainly has the potential to meet these challenges, it possesses […]

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Toilet breaks down again in U.S. segment of International Space Station

International Space Station file photo

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) – The toilet has broken down again in the U.S. segment of the International Space Station (ISS), a source from the rocket and space industry told Interfax. “According to preliminary reports, the separator pump has had a malfunction. The toilet is not being used for now,” he said. The astronauts will have to use the toilet […]

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Why the U.S. Needs Russian Rocket Engines to Spy on Russia

File Photo of Atlas Rocket on Launch Pad

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Eli Lake – June 6, 2016) When President Barack Obama came into office, the fact that Russia sold the U.S. the rocket engines it needed for launches was a feature of U.S. foreign policy, not a bug. Obama was trying to reset the U.S. relationship with Moscow, and that meant finding areas where the two former […]

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NEWSWATCH: “NATO’s Breedlove Calls for Sharper Focus on Russia Ahead of Departure. Gen. Philip Breedlove says U.S. needs more reconnaissance satellites amid Russian threat.” – Wall Street Journal

Philip Breedlove file photo

The U.S. has too few intelligence assets focused on the threat from Russia and should concentrate its technical capabilities on Moscow’s growing military might, NATO’s departing supreme allied commander said. The U.S. has begun to build up the number of intelligence analysts examining Russia, which stood at 13,000 at the height of the Cold War before dipping to a low […]

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Grounded: Economic Crisis Hobbles Russian Space Program

International Space Station file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – March 25, 2016) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tried to put a positive spin on it, but the numbers were hard to ignore. Just two years ago, in the emotional high that followed Crimea’s annexation, Russia’s 10-year space program was promised a full 3.4 trillion rubles (then around $70 billion). By the time […]

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U.S. National Intelligence Director Says Russia Is Paranoid, Aggressive

DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – February 10, 2016) Russia is “paranoid” about NATO and is likely to continue “aggressive” actions this year to support its claim to great power status, U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in Senate testimony Tuesday. In a report on “Worldwide Threat Assessment” that Clapper presented to the Senate, Russia topped a […]

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NEWSWATCH: “EU, Russia may nuke asteroids. Blowing up comets and asteroids with nuclear bombs is just one way to save the planet from an Armageddon-style impact, say scientists.” – The Daily Telegraph (UK)

File Image of Earth Orbit and Asteroids

The Daily Telegraph covers the prospect of the EU and Russia launching nuclear missiles against asteroids or comets that threaten the earth. The European Commission funded Russian scientists to develop plans to save the world from rogue asteroids by blowing them up with nuclear weapons.  … Russia’s top space research institute teamed up with missile and rocket engineers to look […]

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U.S.-Russian Relations on The High Frontier

International Space Station file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – December 4, 2015) In the summer of 2000, a Soviet-designed Proton rocket was rolled out to its launch pad at Site 81 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a former military black site hidden on the sprawling steppes of Kazakhstan from which the Soviet Union embarked on its conquest of space in the late […]

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McCain Nixes Pentagon Plan to Use More Russian Rocket Engines

John McCain at hearing; adapted from defense.gov image

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 15, 2015) The United States will not allow domestic space companies to use more Russian rocket engines despite requests from the Pentagon, news agency Reuters reported, citing a letter written by U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee John McCain. In a response to a letter from U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter […]

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Despite Recession, Russians’ Support for Space Program High as Ever

International Space Station file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – April 12, 2015) Popular support for Russia’s space program is as strong as ever, even as an economic crisis pushes greater numbers of Russians into poverty, according to a poll published Friday. The survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) found that 47 percent of respondents wanted the nation’s space […]

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Ukraine to Help Russia Launch Space Rockets Despite Ban on Defense Cooperation

File Image of Earth Orbit and Asteroids

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 7, 2015) Ukrainian rocket manufacturer Yuzhmash has agreed to service two launches of a Ukrainian-built rocket from the Russia-controlled Baikonur cosmodrome, despite Moscow’s moves to curtail space cooperation with Kiev, newspaper Izvestia reported Monday, citing the company’s general director. With Russia and Ukraine at loggerheads over Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Yuzhmash had previously not responded […]

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NEWSLINK AFP: Feud on Earth but peace in space for US and Russia

International Space Station file photo

Hundreds of kilometres below on Earth, their governments are locked in a standoff over Ukraine — but up in space, Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts are still working together side by side. The International Space Station (ISS) is one of the rare areas of US-Russian cooperation that has not been hit by the Ukraine crisis and in the latest show […]

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Russia left without ballistic missile early warning system

File Image of Earth Orbit and Asteroids

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – February 13, 2015) The launch of Russia’s first Unified Space System satellite Tundra has been delayed until June 2015 for technical reasons, Russian business daily Kommersant has reported, citing sources in the space industry and Russia’s Defense Ministry. The satellite was due to enter orbit in 2013 and replace the outmoded OKO-1 satellites. […]

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Turf War Seen at Heart of Russian Space Industry Shake-Up

International Space Station file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – January 23, 2015) An ambitious drive by a friend of President Vladimir Putin’s to take control of Russia’s defense industry may be behind a shock announcement this week that Russia would merge its federal space agency with a major industry group, analysts said. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took industry observers by surprise […]

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Moscow Times: New Russian Space Station Blueprint Ready for Kremlin Consideration

International Space Station file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – January 20, 2015) A prominent research institute affiliated with Russia’s space agency will present conceptual designs for a new Russian national space station to the government’s military-industrial commission that would potentially replace the International Space Station (ISS), the institute’s deputy director said. “We have prepared the relevant materials,” said Alexander Danilyuk, the […]

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