Saturday, February 4, 2023
Sign-In
|
Sign-Up
|
Contact Us
|
Bookmark
Home
News
Articles
Forum
Search
Directory
Blog
Accounts
Business
|
Politics
|
Technology
|
Entertainment
|
Sport
|
Other
|
All Published News
|
Russia has delayed the launch of the Soyuz-2 carrier with the European MetOp weather satellite from Baikonur on Wednesday for the third time this week
Russia has delayed the launch of the Soyuz-2 carrier with the European MetOp weather satellite from Baikonur on Wednesday for the third time this week. “An error occurred in the launch sequence during pre-launch operations with the carrier. Therefore a decision was made to delay the launch for 24 hours,” a Baikonur official told Itar-Tass. Initially the carrier with the European satellite MetOp was scheduled for Monday, July 17, but it was delayed twice because of a technical problem. “The launch of the Soyuz-2 carrier with a Fregat booster will be carried out today at 20:28 Moscow time,” a Roskosmos official said. The Soyuz-2 is a new type of carrier rocket equipped exclusively with Russian-made components. The MetOp satellite will be put in orbit close to the polar one 68 minutes after the launch. The satellite was the first to be built by the EADS Astrium Company for the European Space Agency and the EUMETSAT organisation of satellite meteorology. The Soyuz-2 rocket was designed and manufactured at the Samara State Space Rocket Design Bureau “TSKB-PROGRESS”. A rapid board digital computer is the key element of the Soyuz-2 control system. During the flight, it constantly receives signals from the sensitive elements of the control system, compares the current parameters with the programmed ones and issues signal commands. The Soyuz-2 carrier was test launched from Plesetsk on November 8, 2004. The rocket’s lift-off mass is 311 tonnes. The Soyuz-2 carrier rocket is capable of putting 7,480 kilograms of payload to the near-Earth orbit at an altitude of 200 kilometres. The MetOp system is a European contribution to the programme of creating a polar satellite system, implemented jointly with the United States. It is designed to improve weather prospecting in various regions on Earth that are still uncovered by the existing satellite systems. The MetOp satellites are equipped with American instruments. They can be used to watch the surface of Earth and search for ships and planes in distress. The quipment also ensures the compatibility of weather observation data and the currently existing formats as well as new-generation European sensors that make it possible more accurately to gauge the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere, its ozone content, wind velocity, and the direction of the movement of air masses. There will be three spacecraft in the series, all in all. The MetOp will be the first European meteosatellite to operate in a near-polar orbit. Spacecraft of the MetOp series will operate as the so-called morning coverage satellites. “By virtue of the peculiarities of the near-polar Sun-synchronous orbit, the satellites will pass above all the observed regions approximately at one and the same time -- in local morning hours while American satellites will provide the so-called afternoon coverage,” the Roskosmos official said. The Metop-A will operate for five years. Work on the other two satellites of the series is almost completed. The spacecraft will remain in storage until the launch date.
Related News
Ukraine's protracted political crisis took another step onto the streets Tuesday
Russia's security chief said Tuesday is continuing operations to hunt down the killers of five diplomats in Iraq
Russia's security forces foiled terrorist plans targeting the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg at the weekend
Aeroflot - Russian Airlines makes flights from Lebanon via Syria’s airport in Damascus
Group of U.S. experts has begun inspections of a strategic arms base in Bryansk
Opposition blocs in Ukraine's parliament could form a shadow government
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov will leave Wednesday for the Middle East in the wake of the escalating Israeli-Lebanese conflict
Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia is opposed to any attempts to drive Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zones in the Caucasus state
Viktor Yanukovich was nominated a candidate for the premier’s post
The Georgian parliament passed by a unanimous vote on Tuesday a resolution on the pullout of Russian peacekeeping forces from the areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetian conflicts
Russia considers the Georgian parliament’ s resolution as a provocative step
An IL-62 aircraft of the Russian Emergencies Ministry has brought the first group of evacuated Russian and CIS nationals to Moscow from Palestine
Vladimir Putin:"Akhmed Zakayev, should be extradited to Russia"
Georgia is not against Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization
Russia received information about Israel pursuing other goals in Lebanon than releasing its hostages from official Lebanese sources
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday he was satisfied with the results of the Group of Eight summit near St. Petersburg
President Vladimir Putin will meet with leaders of China and India
Over 60 Russian defense industry companies will present their products at the 2006 Farnborough International Airshow starting Monday
The Russian Embassy is preparing the evacuation of Russian citizens from Beirut
Russia and Japan are seeking to improve bilateral cooperation despite a dispute over a peace treaty dating back to World War II
Jun
July 2006
Aug
Mo
Tu
We
Th
Fr
Sa
Su
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6