Kosmos-3M rocket launches six Orbcomm satellites

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Six Orbcomm satellites have been launched by a Russian Kosmos-3M carrier rocket. Lift-off, from Site 107 at the Kapustin Yar launch site in South-West Russia, occurred at 06:36:28 GMT. This is the first orbital launch to occur from Kapustin Yar since April 1999.

Orbcomm is an American company which operates a constellation of communications satellites in low Earth orbit. The satellites launched today were five Quick Launch satellites, and a technology demonstration spacecraft which will be operated in conjunction with the United States Coastguard. A seventh satellite, Ufa State University's UGATUSAT nanosatellite, was originally scheduled to be launched, but was moved to a later launch aboard a Soyuz-2 rocket for unknown reasons. The launch was conducted by COSMOS International, a Russo-German organisation, and Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces.

This is the 31^th orbital launch of 2008, and the second of which to have been conducted by a Kosmos-3M rocket. The next Kosmos-3M launch is currently scheduled for the end of July, when the SAR-Lupe 5 satellite will be placed into orbit.

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Sources

"Russia's Cosmos 3M rocket blasts off with six U.S. satellites" — RIA Novosti, 2008-06-19
"Russia launches US satellites" — The Press Association, 2008-06-19
An Lu. "Russian rocket sends six U.S. satellites into orbit" — Xinhua, 2008-06-19

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

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Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

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