MOSCOW. Jan 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will start space launches of 2014 on February 5 with the Progress M-22M resupply ship mission, a source from the Federal Space Agency told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"In all, seven launches of Russian space rockets are planned for February-March," he said.
A Soyuz-U rocket will carry the Progress M-22M spaceship. A Proton-M launch vehicle will blast off from Baikonur with the TurkSat-4A satellite onboard on February 15, another Proton-M carrying Express-AT1 and Express-AT2 satellites built by the Information Satellite Systems will be launched on March 15, and a Soyuz-FG rocket will deliver the Soyuz TMA-12M manned spaceship to orbit on March 26.
Two launches will be conducted from the Plesetsk spaceport in the Arkhangelsk region: a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle will propel a Glonass-M navigation satellite into space on February 25, and a Rokot rocket will be launched in the end of March.
A Russian Soyuz-ST-A launch vehicle will take off from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana for positioning a foreign satellite, Sentinel-1A, in a near-Earth orbit.
Russia launched 32 out of 82 space rockets in 2013. There was one accident and one launch was partially successful.
Twenty-three space launches were conducted from Baikonur, seven from Plesetsk and two from the Yasny launch site last year.
Also, Russia's Soyuz-ST launch vehicle was used in two missions from the European Kourou Space Center, a Russian-Ukrainian Zenit-3SL rocket was launched in a Sea Launch mission, and South Korea's KSLV-1 rocket had the first stage built in Russia. A similar stage will be a part of the Angara rocket.
Last year the United States performed 19 space launches, China - 15, France - 7, Japan and India - 3 each, Iran - 1 (unconfirmed), South Korea - 1 and the Sea Launch Consortium - 1.
Russia launched ten Proton-M rockets, four Soyuz-U rockets, four Soyuz-FG rockets and four Rokot rockets last year. There were three Soyuz-2.1b launches, two Soyuz-2.1a launches, two Dnepr launches, one Soyuz-2.1v launch, one Zenit-3SL launch (Land Launch) and one Strela launches.
In all, 5,335 space launches have been completed worldwide since the beginning of the space era on October 4, 1957, including 3,123 from Russia (the former Soviet Union) and 1,565 from the United States.
One space rocket launched by Russia in 2013 crashed and another space launch was partially successful. There was one accident and one partially successful space launch in 2012, when Russia conducted 29 space launches. Russia had 35 space missions in 2011, five of them failed.
Russia launched 31 space rockets (one accident) in 2010, 33 (one accident) in 2009, 33 (one accident) in 2008, 27 (two accidents) in 2007, 30 rockets (two accidents) in 2006, 31 rockets (three accidents) in 2005, 26 rockets (one accident) in 2004, 24 rockets (no accidents) in 2003, 25 rockets (two accidents) in 2002, 25 rockets (no accidents) in 2001, and 38 rockets (four accidents) in 2000.