Guiana Space Center Plans 1st Launch On June 19 After COVID-19 Closure - Satellite Company

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2020) The first launch at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, since its closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak will take place on June 19, Argentina's Satellogic, a firm that will have a satellite on board the flight, said on Tuesday.

Satellogic is set to launch Hypatia, the latest in a series of Earth observation satellites produced by the firm.

"Hypatia has a new confirmed launch date! As operations activities have resumed at the Guiana Space Center, the Vega mission has been rescheduled for June 19, 2020 at 01:51:10 am UTC [01:51:10 GMT]," Satellogic wrote on Twitter.

The launch will take place on board one of Europe's Vega rockets and will be the first flight involving the new Small Satellites Mission Service dispenser, which will allow dozens of satellites to be launched at the same time.

According to Arianespace, the June 19 flight will have 53 small satellites on board.

On Monday, the head of Arianespace's missions and customers department Thierry Wilmart said that high hygiene standards are being maintained in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Guiana Space Center on March 16 suspended all planned launches as the coronavirus disease began to spread across the globe.

On May 18, a source in the space industry told Sputnik that one of the three planned launches of Russia's Soyuz-ST rockets from the center has been postponed until 2021.