Space exploration

Russia may develop reusable first stages for its rockets, which would likely land horizontally rather than in the style of SpaceX’s Falcons, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin has said. He also had words for SpaceX boss Elon Musk.

The head of Russia’s space research corporation has spoken about its latest planned projects and noted that cooperation with the United States could continue on condition that the American side treats Russia as an equal partner.

Cosmonauts broke one of the cameras recording their long spacewalk outside the ISS for RT’s panoramic 360 content. They had been tasked with launching four small satellites and tracking bird migration from space.

NASA wants to maintain its unique cooperation with Russia to haul astronauts into space and continue to use RD-180 engines, while viable alternatives are being developed by US firms, the space agency’s administrator said.

President Donald Trump’s proposal to create the US Space Force will take years to implement at best, but that’s not stopping his re-election campaign from fundraising with branded merchandise. Critics are not amused.

The Trump administration wants to establish the Space Force as the sixth branch of the US military by 2020, Vice President Mike Pence said, warning about ‘threats’ from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.