Ceilidh

Michael Zey
futurist3000@aol.com

.c The Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian rocket brought two Russian and four foreign satellites - including Nigeria's first - into orbit Saturday after technical problems delayed the launch by 24 hours, officials said.

A Kosmos-3M rocket took off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 10:11 a.m. (2:11 a.m. EDT), carrying satellites from Nigeria, Turkey, Britain and South Korea, as well as two Russian military satellites, Russian Space Forces spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko said.

All six satellites entered their target orbit at 11:46 a.m., Davidenko said.

The launch had been scheduled for Friday, but officials said it was delayed for unspecified technical reasons.

The ITAR-Tass news agency reported Friday that the problem was believed to be either in the rocket's fuel system or in the launch equipment.

The two Russian satellites will be used by the military for science experiments and to provide radar services.

Nigeria's satellite is the West African nation's first and is designed for studying Earth from space. The satellites of Turkey, Britain and South Korea also will study Earth.


 
09/27/03 05:24 EDT
   

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