Scheduled Launch From New Vostochny Cosmodrome Might Be Postponed - Source

© Photo : YouTube/RoscosmosVostochny Cosmodrone in Amur Region Soyuz-2.1a launch preparations (Screenshot from YouTube)
Vostochny Cosmodrone in Amur Region Soyuz-2.1a launch preparations (Screenshot from YouTube) - Sputnik International
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The first launch of a carrier rocket from Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome scheduled for April 28 may be postponed indefinitely, a source in the space industry said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, the first space launch from the newly-built Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying three satellites scheduled on Wednesday was postponed.

“According to preliminary information, the first launch of the Soyuz-2.1a that was postponed from April 27 to a reserve date may not even occur on April 28. If a decision is made in the very near future of siphoning fuel from the rocket’s components, this would mean that the launch will be postponed indefinitely until all of the possible faults are fixed,” the source told RIA Novosti.

A Souyuz 2.1a space carrier with Russian satellites Lomonosov, Aist-2D and a SamSat-216 nano satellite sits on the launch pad at Vostochny cosmodrome. - Sputnik International
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The agency added that it has not received any official confirmation of the possible delay.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin will certainly watch the first rocket launch from Russia's new Vostochny space center.

The Vostochny Cosmodrome has been under construction since 2012 and is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050. The spaceport was set to be completed by late 2015, with the first launch scheduled for December 2015. The launch was later postponed due to construction delays.

According to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, the postponement of the maiden launch was no connected to the spaceport’s infrastructure and was not caused by the human factor. The telemetry, as well as the Soyuz-2.1a rocket and three satellites are operating normally, according to the space agency.
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