RUSSIA'S STRATEGIC Rocket Forces Start 1 solid-propellant booster is being prepared at the Svobodny cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region of Russia for the first satellite launch from the new space centre, placing a small demonstration satellite, the Zeya, into low-Earth orbit in December.
The Start 1, a former SS-25 Sickle military missile, with additional hardware from the SS-20, and converted for satellite-launching use by the Institute of Thermal Technology in Moscow, is being marketed as a four- and five-stage launcher by STC Complex.
Source: Flight International
