Soyuz launch from Kourou rescheduled for Dec 18 - source
MOSCOW. Nov 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The launch of a Soyuz ST-B rocket carrying a European Gaia satellite from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana originally planned for December 20 has been rescheduled for December 18, a source from the Russian space industry told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"The new main date of the sixth Soyuz launch from Kourou is December 18, and December 19 is the alternate date," he said.
"The rescheduling has two reasons, namely the indefinite postponement of the December 6 launch of an Ariane-5 rocket and the request of the space center's personnel not to plan any serious projects for the pre-Christmas period," the source noted.
The Gaia satellite was originally supposed to reach the orbit on November 20, but the launch was postponed due to problems with the European telescope's systems.
The first Soyuz LV blasted off from the Kourou Space Center in October 2011.