On September 25, 2008 the Space Forces conducted a successful launch of a Proton-M launcher (with DM upper stage), which delivered into orbit three Glonass-M satellites. The launch took place at 12:49:37 MSK (08:49:37 UTC) from the the launch complex No. 81 of the Baykonur launch site.

The satellites were designated Cosmos-2442 (Glonass number 724, plane 3, slot 18), Cosmos-2443 (725, 3/21), and Cosmos-2444 (726, 3/22). NORAD numbers are 33378, 33379, and 33380.

More details to follow.

Kommersant reports today that the test of the Bulava missile, which took place on September 18, 2008, was not quite successful. According to the Kommersant report, all three stages of the missile performed well, but then the bus failed to separate the warheads. It was the eighth test of the missile (not including two pop-up tests). The success record is hard to judge, but it appears that if we count this test as a partial success, four of the eight flight tests were successful or partially successful so far.

Everything went according to the plan - on September 18, 2008, Dmitri Donskoy submarine of the Northern Fleet successfully launched a Bulava missile. According to the Russian Navy, the launch was conducted from a submerged submarine deployed in the White Sea. The launch took place at 18:45 MSK (14:45UTC). Missile warheads reached their targets at the Kura test site at 19:05 MSK.

This launch is the first after a string of unsuccessful or partially successful test launches, which prompted deliberations in the government and probably resulted in some changes in the program.

A RIA Novosti report quoted an unnamed representative of the military that the Russian Navy is planning to conduct SLBM launches in the Pacific, most likely on September 15th (although the launch window would last until September 20th). The missiles will be launched from submarines deployed in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

What's interesting, the missiles will be launched to the Kura test range in Kamchatka and not to the usual Chizha test site at the Kanin Peninsula. This means that the missiles would be tested at an unusually short range (this would require a lofted trajectory) - no more than about 1500-1700 km and maybe as short as 600 km. The purpose of these tests is not entirely clear at this point (although I'm sure we'll hear obligatory references to missile defense).

Another interesting aspect about the upcoming launch is that while the report mentions submarines of the Pacific Fleet, it says that these are Project 667BDRM/Delta IV submarines even though the Pacific Fleer does not have submarines of this type. It is probably just a journalistic error, fairly common in Russia, but it could be something else - some Project 667BDRM submarines may have been moved to the Pacific. I hope we'll find out soon.

Another launch that we should expect next week is the long-awaited flight test of the Bulava missile. It's about time - the Dmitri Donskoy submarine recently returned from sea trials and presumably is ready for action. Also, I have some information that the test is indeed scheduled for some time next week.

This is going to be an interesting week to watch for Russian SLBMs. Stay tuned.

At a briefing in Vlasikha yesterday, General Nikolai Solovtsov, the commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, provided some details on the Topol-M deployment plans. The plan, unveiled in February, called for 65 Topol-M missiles by the end of 2008. Solovtsov confirmed this - two silo-based missiles would be deployed in Tatishchevo, completing deployment of the fifth regiment there, and nine road-mobile missiles - in Teykovo.

The Rocket Forces apparently scaled down the missile flight test program. The initial plan announced in February 2008 called for 11 missile launches. In May the plan the Rocket Forces corrected the plan - at the time it was announced that nine launches would take place by the end of the year.

Three of these tests are Dnepr space launches, one of which took place on August 29, 2008. Of the flight tests was supposed to include "prospective missile equipment". It appears that that was the Topol launch on August 28, 2008.

The change of the plans made in May looked like a cancellation of the two mysterious launches that were supposed to advance "work on a missile system in research and development". (I speculated at the time that these might be a SS-19 follow-on, but this is a guess that is not based on any evidence, so don't quote me on that.)

Now the testing program has been revised again. General Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, speaking to journalists yesterday said that the Rocket Forces would perform four test launches by the end of the year.

Gen. Solovtsov suggested that the Rocket Forces conducted three launches so far this year - in addition to the two mentioned above he included the Kosmos-3M space launch from Kapustin Yar on June 19, 2008. It is not clear if that one was counted against the nine or eleven in the original plans, but in any event, at least two launches got canceled.

One of the canceled launches is a flight test of the RS-24 missile - two were scheduled initially and now it is only one. Since the idea was that the two launches are required to conclude the flight test program of the missile, it appears that RS-24 may not enter service in 2009 as it was expected.

Two of the four remaining tests are probably the two Dnepr space launches, which are still scheduled to take place in 2008, although one (DubaiSat and others) may slip to 2009.

Finally, the fourth test may be another space launch - a Kosmos-3M launch from Baykonur (with Parus and Sterkh satellites) is scheduled for later this year. Or it could be a test launch of another ICBM. We will see.

Russian ministry of defense announced that two Tu-160 bombers landed at the Libertador military airfield in Venezuela on September 10. According to an MoD report, the flight took 13 hours and the planes landed at 20:50 MSK (16:50 UTC, 12:20 local time). I'm wondering if it's the first time that Russian or the Soviet strategic bombers landed at a foreign airfield in the context of an exercise. Probably not, but it is certainly a very unusual step.

The goal of the visit is clearly to show the flag - there is little practical sense in deploying long-range bombers outside of national territory. But I would much rather see Russia (or any other state, for that matter) showing its flag in ways that would not involve nuclear-capable strategic bombers, even if they don't carry nuclear weapons (Russian bombers don't have nuclear weapons on board during peacetime).

UPDATE 09/20/08: The two bombers, "Aleksandr Molodchiy" and "Vladimir Sen'ko", returned to their base. According to official reports, the bombers took off from Caracas at 10:00 MSK (06:00 UTC, 01:30 local time) on September 18th and landed at the Engels air base about 15 hours later, at 01:16 MSK on September 19th (21:16 September 18 UTC). En route, the bombers performed refueling in air in what was said to be the first ever night-time aerial refueling of Russian (and apparently Soviet) strategic bombers.

According to a report that appears to be based on information provided by representatives of the 12th Main Directorate (12th GUMO), the Russian military conduct an inventory of nuclear warheads "at least twice a year".

Speaking at a briefing two days days ago, Paula DeSutter, Assistant Secretary of State, mentioned that Georgia-related setbacks notwithstanding, State Department is hopeful that "things can evolve in a positive way so that we can move forward on a post-START agreement [with Russia]." That would be very difficult of course, but one can always hope.

The State Department did, as it turns out, take the post-START agreement seriously - the draft document prepared there is reportedly "hundred or so pages long". This stands in contrast with the Pentagon attitude - the DoD-prepared draft is said to be a very short "Moscow Treaty plus" document.

On August 29, 2008 the Rocket Forces conducted a successful launch of a Dnepr launcher from the silo No. 95 of the launch complex No. 109 of the Baykonur test site. The launch took place at 11:15:53 MSK (07:15:53 UTC). The launcher delivered into orbit five RapidEye satellites for the German Space Agency.

The missile used in the launch is a converted R-36MUTTH (RS-20B) ICBM. The Rocket Forces did not disclose the exact age of the missile, but it is at least 25 years old - missiles of these type were deployed in 1979-1983. The space launch was simultaneously a flight test that was used to confirm reliability of the missile.