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Launch of probe delayed

MOSCOW: The launch of a European probe intended to explore Venus has been postponed because of a problem with a Russian booster rocket — a delay that closely follows the loss of a high-profile European satellite due to a Russian booster failure, officials said on Saturday. The European Space Agency's Venus Express probe was set to be launched next Wednesday by a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, but pre-launch checks had revealed a problem with thermal insulation in its upper stage, Fregat, Russia's Federal Space Agency said in a statement. It said the problem would take about 10 days to fix, and the new launch date would be announced later. Despite the delay, the launch would fit into the one-month window opening next Wednesday during which the celestial motion of the planets makes a voyage to Venus the most fuel-efficient.

— AP

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