Replacement Operations Underway For Faulty Equipment Of Soyuz-ST At Kourou- Launch Company

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th December, 2019) Replacement operations are underway for the faulty equipment that caused the delay of the launch of Russia's Soyuz-ST carrier rocket with five European satellites on board from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, and the launch is scheduled for Wednesday, Stephane Israel, the CEO of Arianspace launch service provider, said.

According to the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos, the launch was delayed from Tuesday to Wednesday due to a detected control system error.

"New launch date of December 18 is targeted for #Soyuz Flight #VS23, with liftoff set @ 08:54:20 UTC. Replacement operations are underway for the faulty equipment affected by an outage. A new technical review before fueling of the launch vehicle will occur Dec. 18 at H0-5h," Israel said on Twitter.

The Soyuz-ST will carry an Italian CSG-1 radiolocation satellite, a Swiss-ESA space telescope CHEOPS, a French EyeSat research satellite, France's first nanosatellite ANGELS and a ESA's OPS-SAT satellite.