Russia postpones satellite launch

February 28, 2000

Web posted at: 2:16 PM EST (1916 GMT)

MOSCOW (AP) -- Technical problems have forced Russia to postpone the launch of a communications satellite from the Baikonur cosmodrome, a news report said Monday.

A Proton booster rocket was to carry the Express-A satellite into orbit on Tuesday, but the launch has been rescheduled for March 29, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. No details on the nature of the technical problems were released.

A Proton rocket carrying a Russian Express-A satellite crashed in October after takeoff from Baikonur. Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, which now owns the Baikonur, blocked all Proton launches from the pad following the accident.

However, the ban was lifted this month, and a Proton rocket successfully carried an Indonesian Garuda-1 commercial communications satellite into orbit on February 12.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/02/28/russia.space.ap/index.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 29, 2000