Operator file · RU-193
Russian Space Forces
Russian Space Forces is a government launch operator based in Russia, founded in 1992. It has flown 159 launches under its own name. 151 succeeded and 8 failed, a success rate of 95.0%. It has nothing on the schedule we can see right now.
Flight record
Launch statistics
These are launches under VKS’s own name in The Space Devs’ Launch Library. They don’t count missions or payloads. A spacecraft that flew on someone else’s rocket counts for the operator that flew it.
Operator or customer
An operator owns the rocket and runs the count, and the launch schedule filters by operator. A customer pays for the mission, supplies the payload and buys the ride. Some organisations are both. Below, VKS is counted in whichever role the current schedule gives it.
Manifest role
No scheduled flight names VKS with someone else flying it.
How we count it: a scheduled launch counts as a customer flight when this organisation’s name or abbreviation is in the launch name, mission name or programme, and someone else is flying it. We don’t search mission descriptions, and we only see the schedule as far as it goes, which is 2026-12-31 00:00:00Z. So treat both counts as a minimum.
About VKS
The Russian Space Forces are a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Russia. Having been reestablished following August 1, 2015 merger between the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces after a 2011 dissolving of the branch. The Russian Space Forces were originally formed on August 10, 1992 and the creation of the Russian Armed Forces.
Upcoming launches
Manifest
VKS has nothing on the schedule we can see, which runs to 2026-12-31 00:00:00Z. Its missions show up here once a launch date is published.
All upcoming launchesThe label on each flight says how exact its launch time is. If the date is only known to the month, you’ll see the month and no countdown. A weather go-probability only shows when Launch Library has one for that flight. EveryLaunch doesn’t work it out.
VKS in the archive
From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.
Orbitburn is a gravity lander game. It's free on Android, and you can play it in your browser.Get it free on Google Play
Common questions
- How many launches has Russian Space Forces flown?
- Russian Space Forces has flown 159 launches under its own name. 151 succeeded and 8 failed. That counts launches it flew itself, not missions or payloads it contributed to.
- What is Russian Space Forces's success rate?
- 95.0%. That's 151 successful flights out of 159 attempts. Its last 71 launches in a row have succeeded.
- When is Russian Space Forces's next launch?
- Russian Space Forces has nothing on the schedule EveryLaunch can see, which runs to 2026-12-31 00:00:00Z.
- Does Russian Space Forces fly its own rockets, or buy launches from another operator?
- Russian Space Forces has flown 159 launches under its own name. It isn't the operator on any scheduled flight we can see. An operator owns the rocket and runs the count. A customer pays for the mission, supplies the payload and buys the ride. The operator filter on the launch schedule only lists operators, so a well-known agency can own a mission and still not show up there.
- Where is Russian Space Forces based?
- Russia. Launch Library lists it as a government operator, founded in 1992.