MOSCOW: Russia had to cancel the opening of the European satellite due to the fault of the proton rocket that is meant to put the satellite into orbit, Roscosmos space agency said.
“During the review of the throttle block, a malfunction in the controlling instrument system was detected,” the Interfax news agency quoted a Roscosmos spokesperson as saying.
The rocket was to have carried the Astra 2-G European telecommunications satellite into orbit.
To remedy the failure, the rocket’s launch ramp will have to be removed from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where it had already been installed, and release throttle block Briz-M on the carrier rocket’s final stage.
According to the spokesperson, the Astra-2G, designed for 15 years of useful life, will be launched as soon as possible.
On Oct. 21, a Briz-M malfunction prevented the Russian telecommunications satellite Express-AM6 from reaching the desired orbit, although Roscosmos specialists are hopeful it will reach it in coming months through its own propulsion system.
