Proton rocket carries US telecom satellite to space from Baikonur

MOSCOW. November 15. KAZINFORM A Proton-M rocket carrying a U.S. telecom satellite, SkyTerra-1, was launched from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan at 8:29 p.m. Moscow time on Sunday, Khrunichev Aerospace Center press secretary Alexander Bobrenyov told Itar-Tass; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.

"The engines of the Proton, which is being propelled with a Briz-M booster unit, will work for 581 seconds. After that the booster unit and the satellite will reach a sub-orbiting trajectory with the orbit inclination of 51.5 degrees. The satellite will reach the designated orbit in five impulses of the booster unit," he said.

"The total launching period, from the moment of the rocket's takeoff to the separation of the satellite from the booster unit, will amount to nine hours and 14 minutes. The satellite will be positioned at 101.3 degrees West on the geostationary orbit," he said.

SkyTerra 1 is a joint product of Boeing and Intelligence Systems, which will give users of regular cell phones to satellite communications. The planned service life of the satellite is 15 years. It weighs 5,390 kilograms.

The Proton-M rocket and the Briz-M booster unit are products of Khrunichev. The three-stage liquid-fuel rocket weighs about 700 tonnes. Intelligence Systems markets Proton rockets. Khrunichev has a controlling state in that company.