Blast-off of Telkom 2 delayed

Blast-off of Telkom 2 delayed

The blast-off of an Ariane-5 ECA launcher with a Spaceway 2 and a
Telkom 2 satellite, scheduled for overnight on Saturday, has been
postponed, European group Arianespace said.

"Following a problem encountered during final preparations of
the launcher, Arianespace has decided to postpone the Ariane 5
ECA mission scheduled for this evening," the group said in an
online statement.

"A new date will be announced in the next few hours," it
added.

The mission was initially scheduled for June 24 but the launch
has already been postponed twice.

Satellite television firm DirecTV's Spaceway 2 weighs 6.1
tonnes at lift-off and is to enable the company to provide live
coverage in the United States.

Telkom 2, which weighs in at nearly two tons, is owned by
Indonesian company PT Telkom Indonesia.

Ariane 5 ECA rockets are designed to carry a payload of almost
10 tons. -- AFP