The launch, to be made atop a Ukrainian-built Zenit-2 rocket, had originally been due to take place in late March, and then on Sunday, but both firings were postponed.

Russian officials said the latest delay, like the earlier one, was due to technical problems with the Zenit-2, which was the last and most advanced space rocket built by the Soviet Union before it collapsed in the early 1990s.

The new launch time was set for 1042 GMT on Monday from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakstan, officials said.

SPACE.WIRE