spacetoday.net: Proton launches Russian communications satellite

Proton launches Russian communications satellite

Posted: Wed, Oct 22, 2014, 9:04 AM ET (1304 GMT)
Proton M launch of Express-AM6 (Roscosmos)

A Proton rocket successfully launched a Russian communications satellite on Tuesday. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 11:09 am EDT (1509 GMT, 7:09 pm Moscow time) carrying the Express AM6 satellite. The rocket's upper stage released the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit about nine hours later. The satellite, built by Russian manufacturer ISS Reshetnev for the Russian Satellite Communications Company, weighed about 3,400 kilograms at launch. It will operate from 53 degrees east in GEO, providing telecommunications services across Russia and surrounding regions. The launch is the second for the Proton since a launch failure in May.