ISS orbit to be adjusted for Soyuz landing

Space Adventures to offer three seats on Russian rocket beginning in 2013

If you’re a well-heeled traveler searching for an exotic locale to spend a 10-day vacation, look no more.

Vienna, Va.-based private spaceflight marketing firm Space Adventures announced Wednesday that it had struck a deal with the Russian space agency to offer three passenger seats to the International Space Station beginning in 2013.

The trip aboard a Soyuz spacecraft is made available through Russia’s increase in production of spacecraft to a rate of five per year from four.

"We are extremely excited to announce this agreement and would like to thank our Russian partners in increasing Soyuz production and providing Space Adventures these well sought-after transportation services on the only commercially available manned spacecraft currently in operation," said Eric Anderson, chairman of Space Adventures, in a statement.

Space Adventures has organized eight trips to the space station for space enthusiasts on Soyuz rockets. 

Its first client was Dennis A. Tito, a California multimillionaire who founded Wilshire Associates Inc., an investment firm in Santa Monica. In 2001, Tito was the world's first space tourist, shelling out $20 million for the ride.

More recently, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte paid more than $35 million in 2009 to spend nine days on the space station.

So, tickets are not cheap.

But when Laliberte was asked about the hefty airfare as he floated in space, he smiled and told reporters it was "worth every penny."

-- W.J. Hennigan

Russian lower house to discuss power supplies to Moscow Region

The State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, will on Thursday hold a round table on power supplies to Moscow and the Moscow Region.

The meeting will involve Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Shishkin, Nikolai Shvets, who heads holding company MRSK managing energy sector companies, the Russian capital's power grid company MOESK head Andrei Konovalov and other officials.

Massive blackouts began around Moscow and in other areas in central Russia after an ice storm in late December. The Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Pskov and Smolensk regions were affected.

It was raining for two days and drops of water froze immediately on power transmission lines and electrical wires. Gales broke frozen trees, which fell on wires, disrupting electricity supplies in entire districts.

Hundreds had to celebrate New Year's Day in darkness in the Moscow Region. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin even suggested that Governor Boris Gromov, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Shvets go to blacked-out districts to mark New Year with their dwellers.

Power supplies to most inhabited localities were restored in early January, but snowfalls and strong winds caused new power outages, whose consequences are still being dealt with.

The participants of Thursday's round table will also discuss the wear of power grid equipment and steps to prevent new blackouts.

MOESK services consumers in Moscow and the Moscow Region. Its key shareholders are MRSK (51%), energy giant Gazprom (31%) and Moscow authorities (8%).

MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15851386&PageNum=0

13.01.2011, 03.11

MOSCOW, January 13 (Itar-Tass) - Planned power outages for repairs in the electricity distribution networks will continue in the Moscow region on Thursday - they will affect 10 districts of the region, the press service of the Moscow unified power grid MOESK reported.

The outages will affect some 86 populated localities in total in the south, west and east of the region.

Power engineers who have conducted planned outages over the past five days (since Saturday) urge citizens not to worry and remain calm, and also to apply for more details calling the 24-hour multi-channel “bright line” at 8-800-700-40-70 and also call temporary information centres set up in each district of the MOESK electrical networks MOESK (the phone number are available on the MOESK website - www.moesk.ru).

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15851370&PageNum=0

13.01.2011, 03.03

MOSCOW, January 13 (Itar-Tass) - Russian journalists on Thursday will mark their professional holiday – Day of the Russian Press. This date is timed to the release in 1703 of the first Russian newspaper - the Vedomosti (of Peter the Great). The decision to shift the holiday date was adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation in 1991 on the initiative of the journalists themselves. Previously, it was celebrated on the birthday of the newspaper Pravda – on May 5.

The first national periodical was published under the name “Gazette about the military and new affairs worthy of knowledge and memory that occurred in the Moscow State and other neighbouring countries.” The newspaper’s circulation was only 1,000 copies. On January 1, 1870 “by supreme order” it was allowed “to arrange in the form of experience the subscription to periodicals - both Russian and foreign – at post offices.” In Russia, it was the first decree on subscription to periodicals. By 1914, over 3,000 periodicals were published in Russia.

The press service of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation (Rospechat) told Itar-Tass that more than 90,000 mass media are currently registered in Russia, including about 70,000 printed and about 17,000 electronic media. Last year, the number of registered printed media was 8 percent higher than in 2009, and in comparison with 2005 the number increased by 34 percent. “Moreover, the number of regional media registered in 2010 more than two times exceeded the number of nationwide media,” the press-service noted. “In the previous year, this difference was not so great. So, in 2005 the number of regional media outlets exceeded the number of nationwide media by only 11 percent, in 2006 - by 16.5 percent, and in 2009 - already by 42 percent.”

Most magazines published in Russia are of entertainment and advertising-informational nature, the socio-political journals are third, followed by the scientific and popular publications, children’s and literary-art periodicals. As for newspapers, the largest percentage here have socio-political publications, advertising-informational publications account for more than 17 percent, and newspapers devoted to “leisure and entertainment” – for 13 percent.

The Union of Journalists of Moscow congratulated the colleagues on Day of the Russian Press. “The role of the press, radio and television in public life is growing,” the professional union noted. “In the present conditions the printed and spoken word, television image, the Internet can in the shortest time reach the most remote areas, enter any social environment.” The union also wished all the “journalists, all those involved in this honourable and difficult profession, objectivity in reporting events, professional capacity, the real journalistic passion, courage and perseverance, and new creative ideas.”

The Union of Journalists also drew attention to the fact that the issue of protection of media representatives from persecution for their professional activities is causing serious concern today. “Because the profession of journalist in Russia, despite its popularity, remains one of the most dangerous,” the Union believes. “Our colleagues are threatened, killed, taken hostage, and physically assaulted.” According to the Committee for the Protection of freedom of speech and the rights of journalists, over the past 15 years, more than 300 journalists have been killed in Russia, most of the crimes are still unsolved.

According to the RF government website, the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications is a federal body of executive authority responsible for providing state services and managing state property. It also implements legal regulation in the press, media, and mass communications sphere, including shared-use computer networks of the electronic media, publishing and printing sectors.

The Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications has the following functions: to implement legal regulation and render state services in the sphere of creating and operating the media, mass communications, television and radio broadcasting networks, using the radio-frequency spectrum and telecommunications-satellite orbits for television and radio broadcasting purposes, expanding and disseminating mass communications; and in the information-exchange sphere, broadcasting additional information, shared-use computer networks of the electronic media, publishing, and printing sectors; to keep joint nationwide registers listing the media, mass communications, television and radio broadcasting companies, and audio and video producers.



Leader of Slavic Force arrested for Manege square disorders

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15851422&PageNum=0

13.01.2011, 04.39

MOSCOW, January 13 (Itar-Tass) - The magistrate of the Tverskoi district of Moscow on Wednesday sentenced to 3 days of administrative arrest the leader of the Russian movement Slavic Force, Dmitry Demushkin, finding him guilty of resisting police during disorders at Manezhnaya (Manege) Square on January 11.

“Demushkin has been found guilty under article 19.3 of the RF Code of Administrative Offences for “defiance of a legal demand of a police officer,” his lawyer Dmitry Bakharev told reporters.

Earlier, the court sentenced to 15 days in jail one of the leaders of the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) - Vladimir Tor (Kralin).

According to head of the Moscow police information department Viktor Biryukov, a total of 10 people were detained on Manege Square in Moscow on January 11. The Moscow law enforcement bodies said earlier that “it was done as police received operation information about allegedly upcoming disturbances and provocations.”