Posted: Mon, Oct 31, 2005, 1:39 PM ET (1839 GMT)
The Russian space agency Roskosmos has rescheduled the launch of ESA's Venus Express spacecraft for November 9, the agency announced Monday. Venus Express, ESA's first mission to Venus, had been scheduled for launch last week, but the launch was postponed after technicians discovered contamination in the payload fairing of the spacecraft's Soyuz booster. Engineers traced the contamination to pieces of insulation that had come off; the debris was removed and the insulation repaired. The launch window for Venus Express, an orbiter designed to study the planet's dense atmosphere and clouds, runs through late November.

Related Links:

•  RIA Novosti article
•  Interfax article
•  BBC article
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•  AFP article