A Soyuz-ST-B rocket will blast off the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana on October 12, the Federal Space Agency reported.

"The launch of a Soyuz-ST-B rocket with a Fregat-MT booster and two Galileo IOV satellites aboard has been scheduled for October 12," it said.

The rocket has been installed on a launch pad, the agency reported.

"A service tower has been attached to the rocket to facilitate preparatory works," it said.

Russian and European Space Agency specialists have assembled thermostatic devices and run some of the Soyuz-ST-B checks before the installation of the Fregat-MT booster and two Galileo IOV European navigation satellites.

The installation has been completed, the Federal Space Agency said.

About 350 specialists of the Federal Space Agency are engaged in the works at the launch pad in French Guiana.

Joint teams will begin second-day works on Tuesday to check the cohesion of the rocket and the payload, to run autonomous tests of the Fregat-MT booster and the Soyuz-ST-B rocket and to make master tests.

This will be the third launch of a Soyuz rocket from Kourou. The Russian-French agreement on long-term cooperation in launches of Soyuz-ST rockets from the Guiana Space Center was signed in November 2003.

Soyuz-ST is a Soyuz-2 modification developed specially for Kourou. The rocket was modified to meet the requirements of European partners to security, telemetry and conditions of operation.