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Two New Iridium Satellites Boosted into Orbit by Eurockot
posted: 09:00 am ET
20 June 2002
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MOSCOW MOSCOW. June 20 (Interfax) - A Rokot carrier rocket with two U.S.- made Iridium satellites took off from the Russian northern space center Plesetsk at 1:34 p.m. Moscow time on Thursday, the press service of the Russian Space Forces told Interfax. At 1:39 p.m. Moscow time, the U.S. satellites entered their designed interim orbit. The satellites are expected to reach their designed point on a circular near-polar orbit at around 3:12 p.m. Moscow time. The press service said the preparation and the launch of this light-class conversion rocket were conducted by military units of the Russian Space Forces. The rocket was designed on the basis of the RS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (SS-19 Stiletto according to western classification). The Iridium satellites, weighing 690 kilogram each, are part of the space segment of the Iridium communications system that consists of over 60 satellites. This is the second commercial launch of foreign-made satellites carried by Rokot rockets. In March 2002 two Grace scientific and research satellites, produced by Astrium company as part of a joint project between NASA and Germany's aviation and space agency DLR, were delivered to their designed orbit.
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