12-05-10 Russian Top Space Official Arrives In France's Kourou Space CenterThe head of Russia's federal space agency arrived on Tuesday at the Kourou space center in French Guiana to oversee preparations for the much-anticipated first launch of the modernized Soyuz carrier rocket.Parts of two Soyuz-ST rockets,to be launched this year,were delivered to French Guiana in South America in 2009.The first launch was repeatedly postponed,and the project seems to be behind schedule again as the April deadline was not met.The Russian and French space officials are uncertain of when the launch will take place,saying only that the rocket will definitely blast off by the end of this year.During the visit,Roscosmos head Anatoly Perminov will meet with ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain and officials of the French space agency CNES,the Russian space agency said on its website.He is also to visit the Soyuz-ST assembling facility and the launch pad of Ariane-5,the main European-made booster.He may be joined by Sergei Ivanov, Russian deputy prime minister in charge of space and defense industries,who is also expected in Kourou for a working visit on Tuesday.Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos and French satellite launch firm Arianespace signed a contract in 2008 to launch ten Russian Soyuz-ST carrier rockets from Kourou,with two launches scheduled for 2010 |
