ESA Confirms Three Science Satellite Launch Delays
By Jeffrey Hill | June 5, 2012
[Satellite TODAY 06-05-12] The launches of three European Space Agency (ESA) scientific satellites have been delayed due to technical issues at three separate launch sites, ESA officials confirmed June 4.
The three Earth observation Swarm satellites were scheduled for launch in June aboard a Russian Rockot vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.
The Rockot rocket was grounded in February 2011, when its Breeze upper stage failed to orbit Russia’s GEO-IK2 satellite, and has remained grounded ever since.
Moscow’s Khrunichev Space Center recently announced that the Rockot would return to flight in early July with the launch of two Russian satellites, the Gonets-M and Mir, followed by another Russian government payload and the ESA Swarm missions.