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Russian space agency confirms Proton-M launch with British satellite put off until Feb. 1

A source at the Baikonur space center told TASS earlier on Friday that the delay comes due to a technical malfunction of one of the blocks of the satellite

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. The launch of Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket with Britain’s communications satellite Inmarsat-5F2 has been postponed from January 30 to February 1 upon the customer’s request, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos confirmed on Friday.

“The launch has been postponed until February 1 upon the request of the customer - British communications operator Inmarsat. This was done due to technical reasons linked to pre-launch preparations of the spacecraft,” the agency said.

A source at the Baikonur space center told TASS earlier on Friday that the delay comes due to a technical malfunction of one of the blocks of the satellite. Although the failure was rectified, the pre-launch preparations have been delayed for two days.

Earlier reports said Russia’s Proton rocket is due to put the British communications satellite in super-synchronous transfer orbit at an altitude of 65,000 kilometers.

The Inmarsat-5F2 is the second of three Inmarsat satellites of the fifth generation. It is designed to provide communications services in North and South Americas, as well as in the Atlantic region. The first of these satellites was successfully launched by a Proton-M carrier rocket in December 2013.

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