Russia to replace lost satellites this fall
MOSCOW -- Russia will send two more communications satellites into orbit to replace the three lost in a recent launch mishap, an official said Tuesday.
"We are planning to launch two satellites from the Plesetsk space center to replenish the Glonass orbital grouping following the recent Proton-M accident," Nikolai Testoyedov, head of the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems (ISS) company, told reporters.
Testoyedov said the launches are scheduled in September and October on Soyuz carrier rockets.
A Proton-M rocket carrying three communications satellites exploded last week seconds after liftoff from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
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The TV grab taken from Russia 24 state TV channel on July 2, 2013 shows the Proton-M rocket crashing after blasting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A Proton-M rocket crashed one minute after blasting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos said Tuesday. (Xinhua) |