Russia launches multi-satellite rideshare mission on commercial Soyuz flight

Russia’s federal space agency Roscosmos launched its first dedicated commercial launch through its GK Launch Services subsidiary, using a Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat vehicle to deliver a cluster of satellites to orbit, including South Korea’s CAS500-1. Soyuz – sporting a new blue and white livery – lifted off from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Monday, 22 March at 06:07 UTC, which was 12:07 local time and 02:07 EDT. This followed a scrub about 30 minutes before launch on Saturday’s attempt. More

(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 22)