MOSCOW (AP) - Russia launched a new model of booster rocket on Monday following two postponements, news agencies reported.
The Soyuz-2 rocket blasted off from the Plestsesk launch pad in northern Russia carrying a mock-up of an unspecified "space apparatus," the Interfax news agency reported.
The launch originally had been scheduled for Oct. 29, but was put off twice in order to correct software flaws and perform tests.
The booster is a modernized version of the Soyuz rocket, which has been a workhorse of the Soviet and then the Russian space program since the 1960s and has an excellent safety record.
The new rocket is equipped with an updated digital control system, according to Interfax. Additionally, fewer people are required to oversee its launch and monitor its control system. The rocket also has more power. In addition to using the Soyuz-2 for its own manned and unmanned space program, Russia plans to use the booster for commercial space launches from the Kourou launch pad in French Guiana, starting in 2006, under a deal reached with the European Space Agency.
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11-08-2004, 06:14 PM
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