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Zenit carrier rocket launch postponed until April 25

RIA Novosti

24/04/2008 09:40 MOSCOW, April 24 (RIA Novosti) - The launch of a modified Zenit carrier rocket with an Israeli communications satellite on board from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has been postponed for 24 hours, a Russian space agency spokesperson said.

The Zenit-3SLB rocket was scheduled to orbit the Israeli AMOS-3 satellite Thursday after a number of delays. The Roscosmos official said the current delay was due to technical reasons.

Russia started preparations for the first launch of a three-stage Zenith-3SLB rocket from a land-based launch site in October last year.

All previous launches of this type of Zenit rocket were conducted as part of the Sea Launch program from the Pacific Ocean.

The $170-mln Israeli satellite will join the AMOS-1 and AMOS-2 satellites to increase capacity, expand coverage, and enhance direct cross-Atlantic links connecting the Mideast to Europe and the U.S. East Coast, according to the fleet's operator, Space Communications Ltd.