Soyuz-Fregat mission with Galaxy 14 rescheduled for Aug. 14

August 13, 2005

The Soyuz-Fregat mission with PanAmSat's Galaxy 14 satellite has been rescheduled for early tomorrow morning, August 14, after the initial attempt was put on hold today due to a telemetry anomaly with the launcher.

Both the Galaxy 14 payload and its Soyuz-Fregat vehicle have remained in a safe mode on Launch Pad #6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and are ready for the new final countdown.

Weather conditions remain good at the launch site, with warm temperatures and clear skies. Liftoff from the Cosmodrome is scheduled for 5:28 a.m. local time (01:28 a.m. Paris time, and 7:28 p.m. in Washington, D.C.).

Galaxy 14 is the second of three C-band geostationary communications satellites ordered by PanAmSat from Orbital Sciences Corporation. It originally had been planned for launch on an Arianespace Ariane 5, and subsequently was switched to Starsem's Soyuz-Fregat to meet PanAmSat's operational requirements.

This transfer from Ariane 5 to Soyuz-Fregat was made possible by the Starsem/Arianespace policy of cooperation, which allows these two launch service providers to best respond to their clients' needs.

See our other Feature Stories on the Galaxy 14 mission:

    -MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Soyuz-Fregat orbits the Galaxy 14 satellite for PanAmSat - August 14
    -LIFTOFF! Soyuz-Fregat makes an on-time departure from Baikonur Cosmodrome - August 14
    -Launch hold for the Soyuz-Fregat mission with Galaxy 14 - August 13
    -Soyuz-Fregat launcher readied for launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome with Galaxy 1 - August 12
    -The Galaxy 14 launch campaign enters its final phase - August 9
    -Galaxy 14 launch campaign is underway - July 7