Proton launch postponement was okayed by state commission - Khrunichev
BAIKONUR. Oct 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The rescheduling of the launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket with the U.S. satellite Sirius FM-6, at the United States' request, was authorized by a state commission at the Baikonur cosmodrome, a spokesman for the Khrunichev space center told Interfax-AVN.
"The state commission put off the launch by 24 hours," he said.
The decision was approved by both of the state commission's chairmen - Yevgeny Anisimov and Andrei Vyshinsky (representing the Defense Ministry), he said, adding that the sate commission meeting was attended by the new chief of the federal space agency Roscosmos, Oleg Ostapenko.
The launch was put off from 10:13 p.m. Moscow time on Sunday until 10:12 p.m. Moscow time on Monday.
Roscosmos Press Secretary Sergei Gorbunov earlier told Interfax-AVN that the launch of a Proton-M with the Sirius FM-6 satellite had been put off over problems reported by the American side. "The launch was postponed at the request of the American side over problems with the American ground signal receiver," he said.
