Russia launches European telecom satellite

By IANS
Sunday, December 26, 2010

Moscow, Dec 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia’s Proton-M delivery vehicle lifted off early Monday from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan, carrying with it European telecommunications satellite Ka-Sat.

“The launch was carried out at 2151 GMT from Baikonur. The separation of the European satellite from the Briz-M booster is expected in nine hours and 12 minutes,” a spokesman for Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

The Ka-Sat was made for Eutelsat, a leading provider of satellite telecommunications services in Europe.

The six-tonne satellite is of the new generation operating in Ka-band frequencies. It will provide service to customers across Europe and the Mediterranean.

This was the first launch of Proton-M after a previous rocket veered off course shortly after launch and sunk in the Pacific Ocean Dec 5, losing three Glonass-M satellites.

–IANS/RIA Novosti

Filed under: Science and Technology
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