|
. | . |
|
by Staff Writers Moscow (AFP) Nov 26, 2014 Russia's space agency said Wednesday it was postponing the launch of a Proton-M rocket carrying a satellite in order to correct a defect, in just the latest problem to ground the rocket. The glitch was yet more bad news for Russia's troubled space industry, which earns millions of dollars from the launches of Western and Asian commercial satellites. The rocket had been due to take off carrying a Russian satellite on Friday from the Baikonur cosmodrome, which Russia rents from Kazakhstan. The space agency Roscosmos said it had found a problem in the controls of the Briz-M upper-stage used with the Proton-M rocket. It said a commission had decided to halt preparations for the launch and move the rocket into a test zone to correct the problem. The Proton-M rocket is an upgraded version of the Soviet Proton rocket. It has recently experienced a string of problems that have grounded it several times. In 2012, a Proton-M missed the correct satellite orbit. In July 2013, one of the rockets exploded on takeoff and fell apart mid-air. And in May this year, another rocket failed and burned in the atmosphere. The most recent launch of a Proton-M rocket, in September, went smoothly.
Related Links Station and More at Roscosmos S.P. Korolev RSC Energia Russian Space News
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |