Technical Problems Delay Launch Of Soyuz Rocket Carrying 38 Satellites

Technical problems forced the launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket with 38 satellites on board to be postponed until March 22, the Russian space agency Roskosmos said.

The launch from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, originally scheduled to take place on March 20, was delayed after a surge in voltage was detected, space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin said.

“Having heard reports from the work managers, the State Commission decided to conduct the launch on the morning of March 22, 2021,” Roskosmos said later in a statement.

The rocket was due to place in orbit 38 satellites from 18 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Britain, and Brazil.

The Japanese device is supposed to collect decommissioned satellites as part of an effort to clean up some of the debris threatening to take up available orbits.

Many of the other satellites, including the ones belonging to Saudi Arabia and South Korea, are for studying the globe and sending back data about the planet.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa