Russia suspends rocket fire after satellite loss

The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, said on Tuesday the suspension of the launch of the Proton rocket and the cargo blocks accelerators Briz-M, after the failed operation that was put into orbit the telecommunications satellite Express-AM4. The suspension shall remain in force until they are clarified the causes of the failure of the operation of the Express-AM4 satellite, a statement posted on the site of Roscosmos. “Experts are still trying to establish communication with the device,” added the Russian space agency, which does not consider the satellite lost. The Express-AM4 – a collaboration between the European company Astrium and aerospace production Khrunichev Center of Russia – was successfully launched on Sept. 18, but was outside the planned orbit. With a mass of 5,775 pounds and equipped with 57 “transponders” (telecommunications devices), the satellite should ensure coverage of the Russian telecommunications and the Commonwealth of Independent States, which groups 11 former Soviet republics. The accelerator block is the last stage of a rocket payload – in general, the fourth – responsible for bringing the so-called orbit satellites to support its planned location and for launching spacecraft out of Earth’s gravitational field.