Posted: Wed, Nov 5, 2003, 6:16 AM ET (1116 GMT)
The European Space Agency announced Tuesday that it will procure two Foton microgravity science missions from Russia for launch in mid-decade. The two missions, Foton-M2 and M3, are scheduled for launch in May 2005 and autumn 2006 respectively. The two missions are designed to fly microgravity science payloads lost in both the Foton-M1 launch failure in 2002 and on board the shuttle Columbia on the STS-107 mission. The two missions will carry an estimated 660 kilograms of ESA scientific payloads. Foton spacecraft are designed to remain in space for about 15 days, then return the experiments to Earth in a recoverable capsule.

Related Links:

•  ESA press release