Russia to resume Proton launches not earlier than September

Russia will resume Proton carrier rocket launches in September at the earliest, Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Deputy Head Alexander Lopatin said on Thursday, July 18. “The schedule of Proton launches will be moved to September. But we will make the final decision after all work has been completed,” he said. “We need to wait for the commission to finish its work and devise a plan for avoiding such situations in the future, make sure that all instructions have been fulfilled and only then continue working with the carrier rocket,” Lopatin said. Prior to the Proton-M accident in July, its next launch was scheduled for this month under an international programme.