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Modernized version of Soyuz rocket launched BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: November 8, 2004 An updated version of Russia's venerable Soyuz rocket took its first flight Monday, carrying a dummy satellite during a successful qualification launch. The Soyuz 2 rocket lifted off from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 1830 GMT (9:30 p.m. Moscow time; 1:30 p.m. EST) after several delays in recent weeks. It hauled a mock reconnaissance satellite, called Oblik, that reportedly was fitted with vibration and thermal sensors to gather data on the rocket during launch. The rocket has taken the first step in modernizing the Soyuz vehicle, which has been in service since the 1960s. The Soyuz 2-1a configuration flown today featured a digital control system that enhances the guidance during ascent to reach more precise orbits and that will allow the vehicle to fly with a larger four-meter diameter nose cone payload fairing. The Soyuz 2-1b rocket is slated for its inaugural launch in mid-2006 featuring a more powerful third stage engine package to improve the vehicle's performance and increase the cargo-lifting capacity. The modernized rocket is being prepared for launches starting in 2007 from the European Space Agency complex in Kourou, French Guiana. European and Russian space teams are building the commercial Soyuz pad at the base where Ariane rockets are flown. The Soyuz will be marketed for medium-class satellite payloads along with Arianespace's Ariane 5 heavy-lift booster. |
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The Boeing Delta 2 rocket lifts off Saturday morning with the GPS 2R-13 satellite from pad 17B at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
This longer-length clip follows the Delta 2 rocket during its late-night ascent carrying the latest Global Positioning System satellite. (2min 25sec file)
A red alarm triggers Friday morning's countdown to launch of Boeing's Delta 2 rocket carrying a GPS satellite to be scrubbed at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (1min 52sec file)
Mission scientists preview NASA's Swift gamma-ray burst detection satellite being readied for launch into Earth orbit. (39min 49sec file)
International Space Station Expedition 10 commander Leroy Chiao talks about the election and voting from orbit with CNN's Paula Zahn. (10min 20sec file)