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Launch of Soyuz rocket from Kourou spaceport delayed over problem in booster — source

The liftoff is rescheduled for March 7

© Sergei Savostyanov/TASS

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MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. The launch of the UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite atop a Soyuz-ST carrier rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana has been rescheduled from March 6 for March 7 over a problem with a cable in the Fregat booster, a source in the space industry told TASS on Thursday.

"A problem in one of the booster’s cables was revealed during the pre-launch tests of the carrier rocket’s electrical equipment," the source specified.

A source in the Russian space industry told TASS earlier on Thursday that the lift-off of the United Arab Emirates’ Falcon Eye 2 for electro-optical reconnaissance had been tentatively delayed for 24 hours over problems with the rocket’s booster.

The launch may be delayed for a longer period. A final decision will be made after a repeat of the rocket’s major tests, the source added.

Arianespace satellite launch company earlier reported that at least three blast-offs had been scheduled from the Kourou spaceport using Russian Soyuz carrier rockets. Next on the list is the launch of the second military satellite CSO-2 for France (CSO-1 lifted off in December 2019 atop a Soyuz ST-A rocket). Arianespace also expects to orbit two more groups of OneWeb satellites with the help of Soyuz launch vehicles from the Kourou spaceport in 2020.

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