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Russia May Launch More Saudi Satellites This Year
Saudi Arabian officials are negotiating to have Russia launch six more of its commercial satellites into orbit this year. Riyadh and Moscow are holding negotiations on the Russian launch of the Saudi satellites before the end of 2005 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Hasan Abdulwali told the Interfax news agency this week. Abdulwali said Russia's new Dnepr rockets had already placed seven Saudi satellites in orbit. The Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr is a civilian adaptation of the old RS-20 intercontinental ballistic missile that was capable of launching up to 10 multiple, independently-targeted reentry vehicles or MIRVs. It was code-named by NATO the SS-18 Satan. Now Russia's Federal Space Agency is marketing the Russian-Ukrainian Dneper as a reliable launch vehicle for commercial satellites.Posted by: Spavirt Pheng6042 2005-05-26 |
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