MOSCOW (AP) – The launch of the first rocket from Russia’s new space facility has been delayed after a last-minute problem.
The Wednesday launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying three satellites was to inaugurate space flight from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East. The facility is aimed at reducing Russia’s dependence on the Baikonur complex in Kazakhstan for its major launches.
The launch was scrubbed 1½ minutes before the planned liftoff. Russian space agency Roscosmos says the launch has been tentatively rescheduled to Thursday, but that a decision will be made only in the morning.
President Vladimir Putin was in attendance for the launch and plans to extend his stay in case the rocket takes off on Thursday from the facility some 5,500 kilometers (3,500 miles) east of Moscow.
At a meeting of a government commission discussing the launch, Putin asked why the rocket was delivered in faulty condition.