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Proton-M with US Intelsat-23 takes off

Weighing 2,370 kilograms, the satellite carries 15 Ku-band transponders and 24 C-band transponders

MOSCOW, October 14 (Itar-Tass) —— Proton-M rocket carrier with Briz-M upper stage took off to carry out to the orbit the U.S. telecommunications satellite Intelsat-23.

"The launch was made at 12:37 Moscow time from the launch complex of platform 81 in Baikonur", the Federal Space Agency / Roskosmos / told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

According to the flight’s cyclogramme, the separation of the spacecraft and the upper stage of from the carrier is due at 12:46 Moscow time, the source said, and the satellite will get into the target orbit - at 22:07 Moscow time.

Intelsat-23 was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation on the base of Star 2 platform for the American operator Intelsat - a provider of satellite communications. Weighing 2,370 kilograms, the satellite carries 15 Ku-band transponders and 24 C-band transponders. The unit will operate in geostationary orbit at 53 degrees west longitude, from where it will provide telecommunications services to America, Europe and Africa. Its service life must be at least 15 years.