Russia's 1st rocket from new space base

The Soyuz 2.1a booster blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East in the early hours of Moscow time on Thursday.

Russia space

A Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying Lomonosov, Aist-2D and SamSat-218 satellites lifts off from the launch pad on April 28, 2016. Source: AAP

Russia has successfully launched the first rocket from its new space facility after a last-minute delay the day before.

The Soyuz 2.1a booster blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East in the early hours of Moscow time on Thursday.

The Roscosmos space agency said in a statement that the three satellites the rocket was carrying orbited several hours later.

The launch was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was called off a minute before the planned lift off.

President Vladimir Putin flew to Vostochny for the launch and had to extend his stay in order to see it on Thursday.

The construction of the facility some 5500 kilometres east of Moscow has been troubled by delays and corruption scandals.


Share
1 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world