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Russia launches communication satellite

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-12 04:33

MOSCOW:Russia launched a carrier rocket on Tuesday to send an Asian communication satellite into orbit, a spokesman for the Khrunichev space research and production center said.

The Proton-M rocket, with an AsiaSat-5 satellite atop, blasted off at 11:47 p.m. Moscow time (1947 GMT) from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Alexander Bobrenev was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency.

The satellite is expected to separate from the booster in about nine hours and then reach its geostationary orbital slot of 100.5 degrees eastern longitude.

The AsiaSat-5 satellite, which carries 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders, will provide advanced telecommunication services for customers in Asia and the Pacific. Its designed service life in orbit is 15 years.

Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. ( AsiaSat) signed a contract with Russian-U.S. joint venture International Launch Services in February for the launch of the satellite.

The launch is the sixth involving a Proton-M carrier rocket this year. Produced by the Khrunichev center, the three-stage carrier rocket using liquid propellant has a liftoff weight of about 700 tons.