"The launch, which was planned for 20 January 2008, had to be postponed because of the absence of agreement with Uzbekistan on the fall of the first stage of the rocket in its territory," a well-informed source at the Baykonur launch site told the Interfax news agency on Saturday, 29 December.

He explained that, unlike most rockets, which are launched eastwards, the rocket carrying the Thai satellite was to go "straight to the south, along the so-called ’southern route’, and the first stage of the Dnepr rocket, having spent all its fuel, was to drop about 100 south of the Aral Sea".

"Uzbekistan, for which the upcoming launch is to be the first experience of preparing an area for the drop of a rocket stage, has not yet given its consent," the source told the agency.

"The provider of the launch, the Cosmotrans international space company, finds itself in a very difficult position: Thai specialists are keen to see the satellite taken into orbit as soon as possible; its launch was originally planned for November 2007," the source added.

Dombarovskiy is used by the Strategic Missile Troops, Interfax-AVN website reported.