Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos has cancelled a contract with the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure for launching three Gonets satellites by a Soyuz-2.1b rocket in 2020 and a new document will stipulate their delivery in orbit in 2021, the Roscosmos press office told TASS on Thursday.

"Instead of this contract, a new document will be signed. Specifically, this launch is rescheduled for 2021, this is a technicality," Roscosmos said.

According to information on the government’s procurement website, the contract between Roscosmos and the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure was cancelled upon the parties’ agreement.

The work on the contract did not start and no funds were spent under it. "The cost of the works fulfilled under the state contract as per the accounts reconciliation statement equals 0 rubles. Overall, 0 rubles have been paid and transferred as an advance," the agreement on cancelling the contract says.

Roscosmos earlier placed an order for the manufacture and the delivery of a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket for the launch of Gonets-M Nos. 30, 31 and 32 satellites. The work was intended to be fulfilled from the date of signing the state contract to November 25, 2019. Until now, Gonets satellites were launched by Rokot and Tsiklon carrier rockets.

Roscosmos earlier announced that an Angara rocket would be replaced by a Soyuz-2.1 launch vehicle to orbit three Gonets satellites in 2021. The Russian space agency said that Soyuz-2.1 rockets were fully adapted to Gonets satellites. Roscosmos also said that it would not give up the Angara rocket: its flight tests would continue and its serial production would begin in 2023 in Omsk.