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The launch of a television satellite that Russia has taken more than 15 years to develop has been delayed again -- this time because of fuel shortages, Itar-Tass reported Wednesday.
The Elektro satellite was to be sent aloft Wednesday after numerous delays because of technical problems, the agency said.
The satellite's designers -- Andronik Iosifian and Vladimir Adasko -- have died since 1992, when it was first scheduled to go into orbit, the report said.
The latest delay was caused by space authorities' failure to pay promptly for fuel for the Proton booster rocket, the report said, citing unidentified sources.
Russia has cut back its space program because of financial and logistical problems since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Its problems have been exacerbated by a general non-payments crisis in Russia.
The report said that blast-off has been put back a week or two.
Itar-Tass said space authorities have now paid for the fuel, which will be delivered soon to the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
Earlier this week, President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree on Russia's use of the Baikonur space center, under which the Russian government will lease the site for 20 years at a cost of $115 million per year.
Unpaid Bills Delay Launch Of Long-Planned Satellite
27 October 1994
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