Launch of rocket carrying GLONASS-M satellite planned for May 21 to be postponed for one week - source
MIRNY. May 12 (Interfax) - The launch of a Soyuz-2.1B carrier rocket with a GLONASS-M satellite from Plesetsk Cosmodrome may be postponed for a week, a source at the cosmodrome told Interfax.
"The launch of the GLONASS-M spacecraft scheduled for May 21 is being tentatively postponed for a week," the source said.
The postponement of the launch is not due to technical issues, the source said.
A source in the rocket and space industry told Interfax on May 2 that five GLONASS-M satellites may be put in orbit this year.
"The group launch of three GLONASS-M spacecraft is possible via a Proton-M carrier rocket equipped with a DM-03 booster unit, from Baikonur Cosmodrome, early in autumn, while another spacecraft may be launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome with the help of a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket equipped with a Fregat booster unit at the end of the year," the source said.
The source recalled that another similar spacecraft is due to be launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome this May.
According to the information and analysis center at the Central Research Institute of Machine Building, the GLONASS global positioning system currently has 28 spacecraft, 23 of which have been used according their designated purpose; one is temporarily set aside for maintenance, two have been under research by the chief design engineer, one is currently in reserve and another one is undergoing flight testing.
