3 Aug 2012 10:14

Russian Bion-M satellite launch rescheduled to 2013

MOSCOW. Aug 3 (Interfax-AVN) - The launch of the first Bion-M biomedical satellite carrying small laboratory animals and live organisms has been postponed until 2013 as the satellite itself is not yet ready, a Russian space rocket sector source told Interfax-AVN.

"The mission was postponed to April 15-20, 2013 due to the Progress Central Specialized Design Bureau's failure to build the satellite and test it by the set date," he said.

The Bion-M launch was earlier rescheduled from May to August-September 2012 for the same reason.