The launch of the Proton-M launch vehicle from the Baikonur cosmodrome was postponed due to problems with the device, which is responsible for the operation of the Briz-M upper stage engine. This was announced on Wednesday, July 29, by TASS, citing a source in the rocket and space industry.
“We are talking about a device manufactured by the Mars Moscow Design Bureau, which is responsible for the safe operation of the Briz-M upper stage engine,” the agency quotes the interlocutor as saying.
It is noted that the specialists of the developer enterprise must confirm the stability of the operation of this device in the morning of July 30.
Earlier on the same day, an announcement on the postponement of the launch of the Proton-M rocket was published on the website of the state corporation. This decision was made by the State Commission due to the need for additional inspections of components and assemblies.
The launch of the carrier rocket with the Briz-M upper stage and the Russian communication satellites Express-103 and Express-80 was scheduled for 00:25:19 Moscow time on July 31, 2020.
According to Vladimir Ustimenko, head of the Roscosmos press service, additional technical work with the Proton-M launch vehicle will last until noon on July 30.
Later on Wednesday, a message appeared on the official account of Roscosmos on Twitter that the start was again postponed and should take place on July 30, 2020 at 21:25:19. Representatives of the company did not give official comments on this matter.
March 10, the general director of the Center. M.V. Khrunichev Aleksey Varochko announced the postponement of the launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket due to the discovery of low-quality components.
The previous launch of the Proton-M was made on December 24, 2019 from the Baikonur cosmodrome with the Electro-L meteorological satellite on board.