Russia to Launch 6 Satellites on Tsiklon Rocket
A government commission on Tuesday set the launch date for a Tsiklon-3 rocket
that will put six satellites into orbit for the Defense Ministry and the
Russian Aerospace Agency, the press service of the strategic missile forces
told Interfax.
The rocket has been scheduled for takeoff from the Plesetsk space center in
northern Russia at 9:56 p.m. Moscow time on December 27.
The commission found the that rocket, the launch facilities, technical
systems, equipment and trajectory calculations are ready for the launch. The
rocket will be set up on the launch pad on Wednesday and fueled, after which
the final launch preparations will be made.
Tsiklon carrier rockets have been in use since 1977. The Tsiklon-3 is a
three-stage light rocket that can take a payload of 3,600 kg to an orbit at 200
km, or 2,500 kg to 10,000 km.
The rocket can put up to six small satellites into orbit
simultaneously. The rocket`s third-stage engine can be fired a multiple of
times, allowing it to put the satellites it is carrying into orbits
of varying altitude.
/Interfax/
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