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Russia successfully launched a Soyuz rocket on Thursday for the first time since the failure of a similar rocket that had interrupted the manned takeoff of the International Space Station (ISS) on October 11.
"Thursday at 3:15 (00:15 GMT), a rocket Soyuz-2.1B was successfully launched, carrying a satellite for the Russian army," said the Russian Defense Ministry in a statement.
The satellite reached its orbit at the appointed time, according to the ministry.
"This is the first launch of a Soyuz family rocket since the October 11 accident," Russian Space Agency chief Dmitry Rogozin told reporters on Twitter.
This is the third time this year that the Soyuz rocket was launched from the Plesetsk launch pad in northern Russia, the army said.
The launch of the satellite, originally scheduled for October 19, was postponed following the accident, which forced two astronauts to make an emergency landing a few minutes after takeoff. Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russia.
The failed launch involved an old Soyuz-FG rocket, which is "in principle the same" as used at the launch on Thursday, but which has less engine power during the third stage, said the expert of the Konstantin Kreidenko's space at AFP,
Russia will move to the Soyuz-2.1 series for its launches on the ISS by 2020, replacing the Soyuz-FG, used for 20 years, said Kreidenko.
The Russian Space Agency Roscosmos has set up a commission to investigate the failure of the launch of the ISS and is expected to announce its findings on October 30.
Russia has meanwhile suspended all Soyuz launches, but this does not apply to army launches such as the launch of the satellite by Thursday.
© 2018 AFP
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