Identified defect causes Sea Launch takeoff postponement
KOROLYOV, Moscow region. Aug 17 (Interfax-AVN) - The launching of Intelsat21 satellite under the Sea Launch program has been put off from Saturday to Sunday for technical reasons, Energia corporation reports.
"A defect was identified during the program of the first prelaunch day on August 15 in the ground technological equipment of the satellite," a report received by Interfax-AVN on Friday.
It says that the defect was discovered in one of the supports. The defective support was replaced. The replaced support was checked separately last night. Experts are completing suspended routine operations of the first prelaunch day, the report says.
As a result of the identification of the defect and the operations to remove it the work of the launching crew and support forces has been rescheduled with a view on the takeoff taking place at 10:55 a.m. Moscow time on aAgust 19.
After the arrival of special vessels at the takeoff point in the Pacific the Sea Launch rocket complex started preparing Zenit-3SL launch vehicle for takeoff from Odyssey floating platform.
The Sea Launch complex is in operating condition, all the technological processes of the flight equipment comply with the rules. The complex is ready to continue prelaunch preparations, the corporation reports.
