Vostochny Cosmodrome: Technical Glitch Delays First Rocket Launch From Russian Cosmodrome

Technical failure delayed the first rocket launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia. About two and a half minutes before takeoff, the launch was halted, postponing the anticipated event by a day.

Soyuz 2.1a

Three Russian scientific satellites are bound to be placed on orbit by the Soyuz 2.1a rocket, which was slated to takeoff at 11:10 a.m. local Russian time. However, Telegraph reports that the automated control system running the rockets went into automatic halt, as deputy-director Andrey Ivanov said. Ivanov also ruled out human error as the culprit behind the delay.

Russia built the new spaceport at the Amur region to avert spending $115 million rental per year on the launch pad at Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Russia has been dependent on the Baikonaur launch pad for space launches since the Soviet Union's collapse.

President Vladimir Putin Slams Delay

Russian President Vladimir Putin closely oversees the Vostochny cosmodrome. The Moscow Times reported that Putin traveled from Moscow, about 5,600 kilometers away from the cosmodrome location, to witness the historic event, which unfortunately was delayed.

Vladimir Putin slams repeated Russian space failures after delayed launch https://t.co/rx6fKcNF9L pic.twitter.com/m20EZ0UjIK

— Telegraph World News (@TelegraphWorld) April 27, 2016

Putin considers the cosmodrome as the biggest project of Russia costing between $4.5 billion to $6 billion. The infrastructure will cover about 700 square kilometers and will have several launch platforms. Other facilities that will be included are assembly sites, testing sites, cosmonaut training centers and an area for 25,000 scientist including their families.

Extensive Resources Utilized

Work on the Russian Vostochny cosmodrome was started since 2012. Since the area was sparsely populated, about 10,000 workers were deployed to build 115 kilometers of roads since 2012.

Even with the Vostochny cosmodrome in place, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia will not totally eliminate the use of the Baikonaur launch pad. It will still be using the said launch pad until 2023.