Russia's Center for Ground-Based Space Infrastructure Facilities, the operator of Russia's cosmodromes, will ensure the delivery of the Soyuz-2 carrier rocket for the first 2017 launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on September 20, the center's CEO Ranohon Dzhuraeva said Wednesday.
"The first rocket will arrive on September 20, from September 5 to September 7 the vehicle will be tested in "the dry mode" [without fuel]. Soyuz-2 will undergo full pre-launch preparation, and launch into near-Earth space will take place at the end of November," Dzhuraeva told Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
She added that a second carrier rocket scheduled for launch in December would arrive in the Amur Region in November.
"Last year, combat crews from Baikonur were attracted for the launch of the carrier rocket. The current operational crew is a mixed one, it is planned to involve the personnel of the Vostochny," Dzhuraeva added.
On Wednesday, Rogozin said that the next two launches from Russia's Vostochny space center would be carried out on November 28 and December 22. Maiden space launch of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome was successfully conducted on April 28, 2016.
The construction of the Vostochny space center near the city of Tsiolkovsky in the Russia's Far Eastern Amur Region has been underway from 2012. It will become the first national cosmodrome for civil purposes and ensure independent access of Russia to outer space.
ISRO Develops Ship-Based Antenna System to Track Satellite Launches
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully designed and developed a ship-borne transportable antenna terminal to fulfill the telemetry tracking and command requirements for all satellites and launch vehicle missions.
ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC)'s 4.6-meter ship-borne antenna system has been built indigenously and consists of three-axis Antenna … read more
