Worldwide Free Shipping

SUPER BOOSTER

A quarter of a century ago, on May 15, 1987, the Energia super-heavy booster made its first test flight.

MANNED MISSIONS CURRENTLY IN ORBIT

Soyuz TMA-03M: Kononenko, Kuipers, Pettit; Soyuz TMA-04M: Padalka, Revin, Acaba

NEXT IN SPACE

May 17: A Soyuz-U rocket to launch a military payload (likely a Kobalt M satellite) from Plesetsk.

See more in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

... and beyond

TOP STORY

Russia sends fresh crew to space station

Published: 2012 May 14

Following month-and-half delay by technical problems with their spacecraft, three new crew members are heading to the International Space Station, ISS, for the first time in 2012.

The Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft blasted off from Pad No. 5 at Site 1 in Baikonur Cosmodrome on May 15, 2012, at 07:01:23 Moscow Time (03:01 GMT; 11:01 EST on Monday, May 14). Onboard were Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka (commander of the crew) and Sergei Revin (flight engineer); and a NASA astronaut Joe Acaba (flight engineer). They represent the 31st and 32nd long-duration expedition onboard the ISS.

Around 10 minutes after the liftoff, mission control confirmed that the Soyuz made it to orbit successfully.

The docking of Soyuz TMA-04M with the station was scheduled for May 17, 2012, at 08:38 Moscow Time (04:38 GMT).

In depth: NEW, May 14: Docking systems

Latest news, updates:

Progress M-15M resupplies ISS

Progress M-14M undocks from ISS

Soyuz TMA-04M tests near completion

Europe's ATV-3 cargo ship lifts off

Russia proposes year-long ISS missions

Entirely new Soyuz to fly next mission to ISS

Last Oko enters orbit

Geo-IK-2 revival confirmed

Meridian accident yields debris, telemetry

Oko and YahSat might trade places in Proton manifest

GLONASS network gets another satellite

Fresh GLONASS enters orbit

Proton delivers YahSat 1B

Luch-5A faces bumpy ride in orbit

Proton delivers Intelsat 22

Ekspress-AM4 deorbited over the Pacific

Proton to carry MEXSAT-1

Intelsat-22 set to fly in March

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Russia mulls Apophis mission

Russian lunar missions switch places

Venera-D pushed back to mid-2020s

Russia might re-fly Phobos-Grunt

Details emerge on Phobos-Grunt failure

Phobos-Grunt falls back to Earth

NK-33 engine completes last test before flight

Soyuz-2-1v rocket fueled for the first time

Vega flies its first mission

Angara engine fires again

UR-100NUTTKh flies a test mission from Baikonur

Bulava flies a dual test mission

New details on Russian ASAT system emerge

MAKS 2011 showcases Russian space technology

Spacecraft and rocketry at Le Bourget

Russian space program in 2010s

Russian government replaces space agency head

Rheinbote - a little known test bed of rocketry