MOSCOW. Dec 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The launch of the Glonass-K navigation satellite has been postponed from December 28 until 2011 due to the lack of prepardness of the ground control system and insufficient satellite tests, Defense Ministry's Space Forces spokesman Alexei Zolotukhin told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.
"The State Commission for space and dual-purpose systems flight tests found at its a meeting on Tuesday that the Glonass-K satellite is not ready to be launched due to incomplete preparation of the Glonass-K control ground system," he said.
No positive conclusions about the preparedness of the Glonass-K for flight tests have been submitted by specialists from the Central Research Institute of Machine-building (the head institute of Roscosmos) because of insufficient satellite tests, he said.
"Due to this the State Commission has decided to postpone the launch of the Glonass-K satellite until 2011," Zolotukhin said.