Launch of Globalstar satellites from Baikonur postponed until the autumn

Published: 5/19/1999

The launch, scheduled for mid-May 1999, of another set of Globalstar satellites, by the Russian Soyuz delivery vehicle, has been postponed until autumn 1999 by Globalstar. According to the Russian Space Agency, following the failed launch of the Zenith rocket in September 1998, with the loss of 12 satellites, Globalstar agreed to “compensate for this" through the launch of Soyuz delivery vehicles. Four of these were scheduled for early 1999 (February, March, April and May). However, the launch of another set of satellites by Soyuz in mid-April 1999, together with the availability of launch capacity on the Delta-2 rocket, allowed Globalstar to revert to the original schedule, which stipulated three launches of satellites by Delta-2 in summer 1999. As a result, the company postponed the launch from the Baikonur space centre. This will now take place in September, October and November 1999.

Article ID: 519