Vostochny satellite: Russia has lost contact with one of three satellites launched from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome last week, TASS announced yesterday. “We have been unable to establish a connection with the spacecraft since its launch,” a source within the space industry told the state-run news agency. “Most likely, the connection did not switch on after launching into orbit.”
A decision will be made later today whether to continue attempts to establish a connection or to write the satellite off as lost.
The SamSat-218 satellite was launched with a Soyuz-2.1a rocket on April 28. It was the first launch from Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome, where technical problems initially postponed the launch for 24 hours.
Source: The Moscow Times