Russia to make 39 space launches next year: Space Agency

Russian Space Agency Roskosmos will make 39 space launches in 2009 from the Baikonur and Plesetsk space centres, the agency press service said today. Roskosmos said the launches would be made as part of the Federal Space Programme, the Glonass federal programme, an international cooperation programme, and a number of commercial projects. Four Soyuz manned spaceships and five Progress freighters would be launched from Baikonur (Kazakhstan) to the International Space Station (ISS). As of next year, the ISS crew is to be increased from three to six. A Proton rocket would put into orbit two Express communication satellites, two Glonass satellites, 17 communication satellites, two weather and ocean monitoring satellites, one emergency situations monitoring satellite, and six astrophysical satellites to study planets within the solar system. Roskosmos chief Anatoly Perminov recently said the number of satellites in the Glonass network would be increased to 30 by 2011.

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