MOSCOW. Jan 9 (Interfax) - The Progress Rocket Space Center has built a Soyuz-2.1a rocket and its nose cone for transporting the South Korean satellite CAS500-1 into orbit in 2020, Glavkosmos said in a statement.
"The launch vehicle and the nose cone have been built for launching the CAS500-1 satellite and are pending delivery to the Baikonur Cosmodrome. We are continuing preparation of the rocket and the nose cone for the next mission of our partner in line with the schedule," the statement quoted Progress General Director Dmitry Baranov as saying.
The rocket will also put additional foreign and Russian payloads into orbit, the statement said.
"Preparations for the 2020 launch will continue to fill a number of empty slots in the launching containers with CubeSat-type satellites. In the case of the CAS500-2 mission, we have the possibility of launching small satellites as an additional payload and are holding relevant negotiations with several clients," the statement quoted Glavkosmos Launch Services General Director Alexander Serkin as saying.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Glavkosmos, and Glavkosmos Launch Services signed the contract for launching the South Korean remote control satellite CAS500-1 in August 2017. The launch is due to take place in 2020 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by means of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket and a Fregat booster unit.