Satellite Will Be Launched Into Space Using Converted ICBM Powered by Gunpowder

"Next month, the Russian made Dnepr rocket will carry a European satellite into orbit. It's a very unique space vehicle. The rocket is an intercontinental ballistic missile launched from an underground silo. The first stage is a gunpowder charge: Essentially, the rocket is packed inside a canister which is loaded into a silo."

This is the kind of nincompoopish reporting that we've come to expect from the mainstream Press. And I'm not just talking about the use of the phrase "very unique."

It should be obvious to anyone in this group that the so-called first stage is in fact a pyrotechnic expulsion charge, which drives the missile clear of the silo so that its actual first stage can be started in the open air, and the silo consequently does not need to be vented as American silos are. No doubt the charge will be omitted when the satellite is launched, because that launch will presumably occur from an above-ground pad, not from a silo.