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Roscosmos postpones launch of Spektr-RG space observatory to July 13

The launch was rescheduled so that "the carrier rocket’s manufacturer can present experimental proof that the previously identified issue has been tackled"

MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket with the Spektr-RG space observatory, which was scheduled to take place on July 12, has been postponed to July 13, Russia’s Roscosmos State Space Corporation said in a statement on Friday.

"The State Commission on Flight Testing of Space Vehicles… has decided to postpone the launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket with the Spektr-RG space observatory to a backup date (July 13, 2019) so that the carrier rocket’s manufacturer can present experimental proof that the previously identified issue has been tackled," the statement reads.

Roscosmos added that "the final decision on the launch will be made tomorrow morning [on Saturday - TASS], after State Commission members receive a technical report."

A Roscosmos source told TASS earlier that additional testing was being conducted ahead of the launch.

The launch, initially scheduled for June 21, was cancelled one day before the liftoff. July 12 and 13 were viewed as backup dates.

Spektr-RG is a joint Russian-German project with a goal "to map all massive structures in the observable Universe in X-rays," making "an all-sky survey… with unprecedented spectral and angular resolution," according to Roscosmos.