Article Posted on : - Nov 30, 2009

The Zenit rocket would lift off with Intelsat-15 satellite.

MOSCOW (BNS): A US telecommunications satellite, scheduled to be launched on board a Zenit rocket from Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on Sunday midnight, has been put off, Russian space agency Roscosmos said Monday.

The launch has been postponed due to technical reasons, the agency said.

“The new launch time is not known yet. The launch could be delayed by an indefinite time or by 24 hours,” a Roscosmos official was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

The satellite, Intelsat-15, has been developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and is designed to replace the Intelsat-709 satellite. It will provide telecommunication services in the Middle East and Russia.

The 2.48 tons satellite has a service life of at least 15 years.