BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan. Jan 27 (Interfax) - The launch of Russia's Proton-M rocket carrying the NSS-14 satellite, initially set for January 28, has been postponed, a Baikonur Cosmodrome source told Interfax on Friday.
"Since a technical defect was detected during preparations for the launch of the Proton-M rocket with the NSS-14 (SES-4) satellite, the state commission reached a decision to remove the rocket from the cosmodrome's Launch Pad No. 200 and to return it to the assembly building, where the problem will be fixed," he said.
The Proton-M rocket carrying the Dutch NSS-14 satellite could blast off no earlier than the middle of February, the source said.
It is the second time this launch has been postponed. It happened for the first time at the end of December, when a malfunction in the rocket's upper stage was detected.
A Yuzhny Space Center source, for his part, said that a defect of the testing system's cable had been uncovered during preparations for the January 28 launch.
"The cable, which is used in electricity tests of the equipment of the Proton-M rocket's first stage, will have to be replaced. It was transmitting deformed telemetry," he said.
This cable is not used during a rocket's fight, the source said.
"It is intended for pre-launch checks of the equipment of the Proton-M launch vehicle's first stage," he added.
However, this operation will require specialists to return the rocket to the Baikonur Cosmodrome's assembly building, he said.
SES-4 (former name NSS-14) was built by Space Systems/Loral for the SES New Skies operator, a subsidiary of SES. It is due to replace the NSS-7 satellite launched in April 2002. Based on the FS 1300 satellite platform, SES-4 is equipped with powerful C-band and Ku-band transponders enabling it to ensure government communications, support VSAT networks and provide telecom services across a vast territory comprising Europe, the Middle East, West Africa and North and South America. It has a service life of 15 years.