{"id":2895,"date":"2020-12-18T17:38:27","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T17:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=141080"},"modified":"2020-12-18T17:38:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T17:38:27","slug":"one-and-only-satellite-launch-this-year-from-russias-far-eastern-cosmodrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/18\/one-and-only-satellite-launch-this-year-from-russias-far-eastern-cosmodrome\/","title":{"rendered":"One And Only Satellite Launch This Year From Russia’s Far Eastern Cosmodrome"},"content":{"rendered":"
Russia has hailed what it says was the first and only commercial launch this year from a space center in the country\u2019s Far East that has been plagued by cost overruns and delays.<\/p>\n
A Soyuz rocket carrying 36 British telecommunications and Internet satellites blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on December 18, the Russian space agency Roskosmos said.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the agency said that the launch was the first and only one to take place at the Vostochny Cosmodrome this year.<\/p>\n
The high-tech equipment belongs to a London-based company — OneWeb — which is building a network in low orbit as part of a project to provide enhanced broadband services to countries around the globe.<\/p>\n
The company has launched nearly 100 satellites into orbit so far. It hopes to have its Internet service up and running, supported by some 650 satellites, by 2022.<\/p>\n
Several unmanned launches have taken place from the Vostochny Cosmodrome since 2016.<\/p>\n
The facility near the border with China is intended to reduce Russia’s dependence on the Baikonur Cosmodrome<\/a> it rents from Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n The project was plagued by controversy, including corruption linked to work-related contracts and construction delays.<\/a><\/p>\nBased on reporting by AFP, TASS, and Interfax<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n