MOSCOW. Aug 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is working to transfer the launches of Foton spacecraft from the Plesetsk launch pad to the Baikonur space center.
"In March this year, a reconnaissance commission worked at Baikonur, and it proposed that a workstation for preparing Foton- M satellites for launch be arranged in an assembly and test building at platform 112 (MIK-112)," the Roscosmos press service reported on Wednesday.
According to Baikonur services, a bench for pre-launch operations on Fotons was disassembled, transferred to MIK-112, and assembled there in the first half of August.
"This bench was earlier designed to test one of the types of photo reconnaissance satellites and has not been employed for a long time since then," the press service said.
"The main reason for transferring the launches from Plesetsk to Baikonur was lack of facilities in Plesetsk due to the implementation of the Angara program," Roscosmos said.
The first launch of a Soyuz-U rocket carrying a Foton-M satellite from Baikonur is scheduled for mid-2005.
Foton-M spacecraft are designed to conduct scientific and technological experiments in conditions of micro-gravity. Foreign researchers are actively involved in the Foton program's implementation, and the European Space Agency has made significant investments in its development.