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First rocket launch from Vostochny was postponed due to cable design flaw

The cable’s failure was due to a mistake in making design documentation - in the process of converting hard copy blueprints into electronic form, the space corporation Roscosmos says

© Marina Lystseva/TASS

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First rocket launch from Russia’s new Vostochny spaceport delayed 24 hours

MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. The first rocket launch from Russia’s Vostochny cosmodrome had to be postponed for one day on April 27 due to a faulty cable, which proved to have a design flaw, a panel of inquiry of the space corporation Roscosmos has found.

"The cable’s failure was due to a mistake in making design documentation - in the process of converting hard copy blueprints into electronic form. The mistake was made in the process of manufacturing the main set of cables (the cable was made and passed quality check in December 2014). The flaw was classified as a design error," the commission said after completing a probe.

The Soyuz-2.1a rocket was originally scheduled to blast off at 05:01 on April 27 Moscow time. The automatic control system postponed the launch for one day.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees the space rocket industry, the head of the state corporation Roscosmos Igor Komarov and general director of the cable’s manufacturer Leonid Shalimov were disciplined.

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