A Russian Zenith-2 booster rocket has launched six satellites into space from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Today’s launch comes after three postponements caused by technical problems with the Zenith.
The payload included satellites from Australia, Chile, Germany,
Israel and Thailand, as well as a Russian Resurs satellite.
Russia’s space program, which is facing a severe funding crisis, is
actively seeking commercial customers abroad capable of paying the high
launch fees.
Today’s launch of so many foreign satellites using the Zenith rocket
is seen as a sign of renewed confidence in the program.
The Zenith has a relatively poor track record, having failed seven
times in 28 launches.
Russian space officials proved extra cautious, delaying today’s
launch by 42 minutes to double-check all systems.
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