Posted: Tue, Sep 28, 2004, 9:42 AM ET (1342 GMT)
The launch of a Soyuz spacecraft carrying a new crew for the International Space Station has been delayed because of spacecraft problems, the Russian space agency announced Tuesday. The launch of the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft had been scheduled for October 11 from Baikonur. However, Russian Federal Space Agency officials said the launch had been delayed for an unknown period because of an unspecified malfunction of a spacecraft system detected during tests at Baikonur. The launch has already slipped two days when an explosive bolt in the Soyuz's docking system accidentally fired during a test earlier this month. This new delay is said to be unrelated to that problem, which has been corrected. The Soyuz will carry the Expedition Ten crew of Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov, as well as guest cosmonaut Yuri Shargin, to the ISS.

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