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Delayed Russian Soyuz rocket gets off the ground | Delayed Russian Soyuz rocket gets off the ground |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Russia has launched the first rocket from its new Vostochny cosmodrome, following a 24-hour delay that drew the ire of President Vladimir Putin. | |
The launch of the Soyuz was watched by Mr Putin, who had flown 5,500km (3,500 miles) to the country's Far East for the event. | |
The Vostochny cosmodrome was built to reduce dependency on the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan. | The Vostochny cosmodrome was built to reduce dependency on the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan. |
The unmanned rocket is carrying three satellites. | |
It left Earth at 05:01 Moscow time (02:01 GMT). | |
The initial attempt at launch was called off less than two minutes before lift-off on Wednesday, following a technical fault. | |
Mr Putin stressed that the delay was related to the rocket itself - not the cosmodrome, located in the Amur region near the Russian-Chinese border. | |
It was Mr Putin's personal idea to build a new space port in Russia to avoid any potential political risks of using the old Soviet launch centre at Baikonur. | |
But construction of the vast complex in Russia's Far East has been hit by delays and dogged by corruption scandals. | |
Four people have already been arrested. | Four people have already been arrested. |
"If their guilt is proven, they will have to change their warm beds at home for plank-beds in prison," the president has warned. | "If their guilt is proven, they will have to change their warm beds at home for plank-beds in prison," the president has warned. |
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