Launch of modernized Proton-M rocket from Baikonur delayed - source
MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) - The inaugural launch of a modernized Proton-M rocket from Baikonur may be delayed for several weeks, a source from the rocket and space industry told Interfax.
"According to preliminary information, the launch of a rocket of the fourth and last modernization project has been delayed from May 17 till late May - early June," the source said.
A Proton-M rocket of the fourth modernization project using a Briz-M booster may deliver a satellite of up to 6,300 kilograms to a geostationary transfer orbit.
The maiden launch of the Proton-M rocket of the first modernization project happened in 2004, the rocket of the second modernization project took off for the first time in 2007, and the rocket of the third modernization project was launched in 2009.
