Russia carried out 40 percent of the world’s rocket launches into orbit in 2004, RKA, the country’s space agency reported. Of the 53 successful launches worldwide last year, Russia carried out 21, sending 31 spacecraft – commercial and military – into orbit for itself and five other nations plus the European Union. One launch – a Tsyklon-3 rocket carrying two Ukrainian remote-sensing satellites – failed Dec. 24.
The United States accounted for 19 launches and 21 satellites. The European Union launched three rockets carrying nine satellites. China had eight launches carrying nine satellites, and India put one satellite into orbit.
The only other failure in 2004 was the launch of an Israeli military satellite.
About three-fourths of the Russian launches took place at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the remainder from the Plesetsk cosmo drome in northern Russia, said Anatoly Perminov, RKA’s head.
The Russian orbital group of satellites “at present comprises 97 spacecraft, of which 81 are operating according to their designation, nine are in reserve and seven are not being used in accordance with special-purpose programs,” the agency said in a statement.
Russia plans seven space launches during the first three months of 2005, placing eight spacecraft into orbit, the agency said.
