Test launch of new Russian booster rocket postponed
The first launch of a new Russian booster rocket has been postponed because of technical problems, the Russian Defence Ministry said today.
The launch of the Soyuz-2 booster from the Plesetsk launch pad in northern Russia, which had been set for today, has been postponed because of a software flaw, said a ministry spokesman. He refused to specify the problem and said a new date would be set.
The booster is a modernised version of the Soyuz rocket, which has been a workhorse of the Soviet and then Russian space program since the 1960s and has a stellar safety record.
In addition to using the Soyuz-2 for its own space program, Russia also plans to use the booster for commercial space launches from the Kourou launch pad in French Guiana, starting in 2006 under a deal reached with the European Space Agency.
