First Soyuz-5 rocket arrives at Baikonur
According to Russia’s state-run press, the first Soyuz-5 rocket has arrived at the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan, with a targeted maiden launch scheduled for December.
Soyuz-5 is designed to replace Russia’s soon-to-be retired Proton rocket, as well as the Ukrainian Zenit rocket that is no longer available because Russia invaded the Ukraine. It was first proposed in 2016, with its development proceeding in fits and starts since then. Part of the problems has been Kazakhstan, which demanded (and apparently received) a larger cut from Russia before it would allow Soyuz-5 to launch at the planned launchpad at Baikonur.
A larger factor in the delays has been a shortage of cash in Russia itself, as well the generally slow culture of its aging aerospace industry. However, in the case of Soyuz-5, it appears Russia managed to speed things up, as previous reports in 2024 suggested this first launch would be delayed until 2026.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
According to Russia’s state-run press, the first Soyuz-5 rocket has arrived at the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan, with a targeted maiden launch scheduled for December.
Soyuz-5 is designed to replace Russia’s soon-to-be retired Proton rocket, as well as the Ukrainian Zenit rocket that is no longer available because Russia invaded the Ukraine. It was first proposed in 2016, with its development proceeding in fits and starts since then. Part of the problems has been Kazakhstan, which demanded (and apparently received) a larger cut from Russia before it would allow Soyuz-5 to launch at the planned launchpad at Baikonur.
A larger factor in the delays has been a shortage of cash in Russia itself, as well the generally slow culture of its aging aerospace industry. However, in the case of Soyuz-5, it appears Russia managed to speed things up, as previous reports in 2024 suggested this first launch would be delayed until 2026.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News


Bob, just a question, without intending to cause controversy ( fat chance ), but why do you insist on referring to Ukraine as “The Ukraine “?
It seems to me that the “the” prefix was dropped a relatively long time ago.. and it’s use is a hark back to Soviet times, much as “the” Congo harks back to colonial times.
I don’t want to cause a row, I am just interested in your thinking…
( just to reiterate.. I honestly don’t , for a change.. intended to cause controversy… I was raised with “The Ukraine” , but my Ukrainian friends are happy the “the” has generally been dropped)
Lee S: It is very simple. Language changes like this generally offend me, especially when they are imposed for political reasons. And I don’t go along no matter which side does it. Some quick examples:
manned space flight
The Gulf of Mexico
American Indians
The Ukraine
Kiev
Turkey
women (instead of “pregnant people”)
Hamas terrorists (which the BBC recently tried to make believe were merely “citizens”)
The last is just my dig at the BBC, so you can ignore it.
Lee,
How is your Fall going? My Stockholm friends seem to be spending much of their time in Spain and Italy. I am jealous.
This is just a somewhat more plump, All-Russian Zenit
Same engine…RD-170 series… kerolox
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/russian-space-program.32815/page-16#post-849969
Four nozzles, one engine. Equal to F-1 used in the first stage of the Saturn V (five of them)
Energiya used four Zenit first stages as strap-on boosters. The Energiya core block used four single nozzle RD-0120s…channel wall hydrolox equivalents of SSME/RS-25.
Here is the Buran follow on
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/energia-buran-space-transportation-system.5656/page-14#post-850177
Without the RD-0120 engines, Buran was just one payload for Energiya.
Lee S: you are right about Ukraine, and our gracious host Bob Z is wrong.
When part of USSR, this region was referred to as “the Ukraine” which translates as “the borderlands”. Which it is, from Russia’s point of view! Moscow would say things like “When the Germans invade again, they won’t get to Mother Russia until they first fight through the Ukraine, the borderlands.”
Now that Ukraine is an independent country, they don’t want to be anyone’s borderlands. Hence, they are called simply Ukraine.
If Mr Z insists on calling Ukraine by an obsolete name, then I look forward to Bob’s reporting on Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, East Germany, and Rhodesia…
Like everyone else here, I was raised with “the Ukraine.” But this is probably the one name change I can live with, because the old style was less compatible with Ukrainian sovereignty, suggesting as it did (as Lee points out) that it was merely a borderland of Mother Russia.
But I grok our host’s instinctive aversion to name changes, which are usually implemented by our media and academic classes for less palatable political motivations.