MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. The launch of Russia’s Soyuz-ST rocket with UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite from the Kourou launch facility in French Guiana, scheduled for October, is postponed until early November, a rocket and space industry source told TASS.
"The upcoming launch of the Soyuz-ST carrier rocket has been postponed until November 3," the source said without elaborating on reasons behind the move.
In turn, Russia’s Roscosmos state space corporation told TASS that "the launch from Kourou has been scheduled for early November upon a request from a commercial partner."
A UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite was originally planned to be launched on March 6. Later, a source in Russia’s space industry told TASS the launch has been postponed for one day because of problems with the Fregat booster. Later on, the client and Airianspace company decided to replace the booster and postpone the launch. As the novel coronavirus pandemic continued to gain momentum, all work at the Kourou launch facility has been suspended, and the blastoff postponed again.
In July, the German Aerospace Center said the launch of Russia’s Soyuz-ST rocket from Kourou has been once again postponed, this time until October 16.