|
 |
 advertisement
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Russia Successfully Launches New Soyuz-2 Rocket
By Associated Press
posted: 8 November 2004
4:20 p.m. ET
|
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia launched a new model of
booster rocket on Monday following two postponements, news agencies reported.
The Soyuz-2 rocket blasted off from the Plestsesk
launch pad in northern Russia carrying a mock-up of an unspecified "space
apparatus,'' the Interfax news agency reported.
The launch originally had been scheduled for Oct. 29,
but was put off twice in order to correct software flaws and perform
tests.
The booster is a modernized version of the Soyuz
rocket, which has been a workhorse of the Soviet and then the Russian space
program since the 1960s and has an excellent safety record.
The new rocket is equipped with an updated digital
control system, according to Interfax. Additionally, fewer people are required
to oversee its launch and monitor its control system. The rocket also has more
power.
In addition to using the Soyuz-2 for its own manned
and unmanned space program, Russia 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.
|
|
|
|
|
