Sirius XM satellite launch delayed

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Sirius XMInternational Launch Services has rescheduled the launch of a Proton rocket with a new satellite for Sirius XM Radio until 10/25 to give engineers time to resolve an unspecified problem with a satellite ground station in South Africa, reports SpaceFlightNow.com.


The 19-story rocket was set to blast off Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with Sirius FM6, a 13,234-pound spacecraft to bolster Sirius XM Radio’s satellite fleet across the US and Canada.

Officials decided to scrub Sunday’s launch to fix an issue with a communications station in South Africa, according to Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, the Proton rocket’s Moscow-based manufacturer. The ground station is supposed to receive signals from the spacecraft after it arrives in orbit.

The delay, initially expected to be as short as one day, was extended to five days on Monday.

Liftoff is now slated for Friday at 2:08 p.m. ET, according to ILS, the U.S.-based, Russian-owned Proton marketing and sales firm.

See the SpaceFlightNow.com story here

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