Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center said that the last launch of Russia's light-class Rokot carrier rocket will take place early next year.
The last launch of Russia's light-class Rokot carrier rocket will take place early next year, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center said Tuesday.
"The next launch of the Rokot launch vehicle is commercial, with the European satellite Sentinel-5P, scheduled for September.
"The launch of the Sentinel-3B satellite scheduled for the first quarter of 2018 will also be commercial and will conclude the program," Khrunichev said in a press release.
The Rokot is a modification of the RS-18 (SS-19 Stiletto) two-stage ballistic missile that is being decommissioned from Russia's Strategic Missile Forces.
Proton returns to flight with US satellite after 12 month hiatus
A Russian Proton rocket with a US telecom satellite Echostar-21 was successfully launched early Thursday from the Baikonur spaceport in southern Kazakhstan, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
This is the first launch of a Proton since June 2016 when it suffered an engine glitch, prompting an audit that grounded the rocket for a year.
"The launch took place as scheduled," a Rosc … read more
