The launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket with the Express-80 and Express-103 telecommunications satellites from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has postponed from late March to late May due to the discovery of faulty components in the rocket, Alexey Varochko, general director of the Khrunichev Center, told Sputnik on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th March, 2020) The launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket with the Express-80 and Express-103 telecommunications satellites from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has postponed from late March to late May due to the discovery of faulty components in the rocket, Alexey Varochko, general director of the Khrunichev Center, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
The launch was originally planned for March 31. This should be the first launch of the Proton-M rocket this year.
"During the general quality control of the components, a mismatch of one of the checked parameters was found. In order to ensure the reliability and guarantee the fulfillment of its obligations, the Khrunichev Center has decided to replace a series of components, including on the Proton-M launch vehicle, which is located at the technical complex of the Baikonur Cosmodrome to launch the Express spacecraft," Varochko said.
"Given the need for a regular cycle of tests of the launch vehicle after the replacement of components, the launch date of the spacecraft is expected to be postponed to the end of May this year," he added.
