The liftoff of the privately-built Genesis 2 expandable module is being delayed, due to upgrades in the ISC Kosmotras launch-for-hire booster.

With the Genesis 2 already in Russia, a target launch date had been April 26. But now the craft’s launch may be delayed by as much as four weeks, according to a press statement today from Robert Bigelow, leader of the Las Vegas, Nevada space firm.

“Bigelow Aerospace now expects that the Genesis 2 launch will take place in late May,” Bigelow noted.

“During the final testing of the Dnepr launch vehicle in Baikonur, Kosmotras discovered improvements and upgrades that should be made to enhance the system’s efficacy and reliability. These upgrades are being made to all Dnepr launch vehicles and will increase the chances of achieving our primary goal of mission success,” Bigelow explained.

Genesis 2 is the second Bigelow Aerospace Pathfinder Mission. Meanwhile, Genesis 1 — lofted via a Dnepr rocket in July 2006 — continues to circle the globe.

Update: There is good news on the Dnepr rocket. On April 17, the booster succeeded in deploying a scad of payloads - seven satellites from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Ukraine, along with seven tiny CubeSats, one of which is a tether-in-space experiment.

The Dnepr’s roaring success also clears the way for its use to fly the Bigelow Genesis 2 module late next month.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 16th, 2007 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Space & Astronomy, Technology, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.