Launch of Rocket Carrier With Satellites Being Prepared at Baikonur
Posted on: Wednesday, 2 June 2004, 06:00 CDT
BAIKONUR. June 2 (Interfax-Kazakhstan) - Kazakhstan's Baikonur space launching center is preparing to launch a Dnepr rocket carrier that will put nine satellites into orbit.
The Baikonur federal space center told Interfax that steps are being taken to prepare equipment that will be used to load fuel into a French Demeter satellite, an operation planned to be carried our by French specialists on June 8-9.
The 130-kilogram Demeter satellite will be put into a 700- kilometer high polar orbit to monitor atmospheric phenomena leading to volcanic activity on Earth. It has a service life of two months.
Apart from the Demeter, the Dnepr rocket carrier will also put into orbit Italy's UniSat-3, Saudi Arabia's SaudiSat-2, SaudiComSat- 1 and SaudiComSat-2, U.S. LatinSat-C, LatinSat-D and AMSat-Echo satellites, as well as Russia's AKS-1.
The Dnepr rocket carrier has already put into orbit 12 satellites belonging to Great Britain, Italy, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Germany. The Dnepr program for 2004 involves 15 satellites.
The upcoming launch is scheduled for late June.
The Dnepr rocket carrier is a modified version of the RS-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (SS-18 Satan under NATO classification).
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