Liftoff ClubLook up together
ProCentennial · MST

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) · Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

A Soyuz rocket lifts off from Baikonur.
Photo by Bill Ingalls, NASA. Public domain. Source
Time still moving

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M | Luna 26

· window to · the clock can still move

What this is

This Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M is aimed farther than a lap around Earth. Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) is sending it from Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation. The ride starts as a very loud climb, then a long quiet coast.

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) is flying a Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M from Cosmodrome Site 1S, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation. Mission: Luna 26. Luna 26 (also named Luna-Resurs) is a planned lunar polar orbiter, part of the Luna-Glob program, by the Russian space agency Roscosmos. In addition to its scientific role, the Luna 26 orbiter would also function as a telecommunication relay between Earth and Russian landed assets. The scientific payload on board the orbiter is composed of fourteen instruments that will be fabricated by Russia. The payload will study the lunar surface and the environment around the Moon, including the solar wind, and high-energy cosmic rays. Luna 26 will also scout sites for the planned Luna 27 landing mission. Luna 26 is the second mission of Russia's new lunar program, which includes the launch of Luna 27, a heavy lander that will study the composition of the lunar soil by collecting several samples. Luna 28, a lunar samples return mission, will be the first to return samples at lunar temperature, and will serve as a demonstration for a future Martian samples return mission. Finally, Luna 29 should land a heavy lunar rover on the surface. Planned orbit: Lunar Orbit. Status: To Be Determined. Current date is a placeholder or rough estimation based on unreliable or interpreted sources. The published time can still slip. Rockets wait for weather, boats, and the range.

Story written from the public listing. A model key can be added later; none is required.

From here

Too far to see

You will not see this rocket from Centennial, Colorado. It is about 5,355 miles northwest. The broadcast is the view.

That is too far for the flame and, for almost every launch, too far for the high-altitude plume. Dim the lights and watch together anyway. The clock is still loose, so daylight is a guess.

Space jobs corner

Who is on this flight

Every company we can name, in plain words, plus a careers page when we have a real one.

Careers links are public pages we know. If we do not have one, we do not invent it.

Ask about this launch

Only what the listing says

Questions stay with this launch. If a model key is configured on the server, the answer is cached. Without a key, the reply is taken straight from the record.

Put it on a calendar

So the slip still finds you

A single launch can be saved now. The subscribe feed, on the launches page, is the one that moves when a rocket slips. Calendar alarms do not know about bedtime quiet hours.