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Russian rocket with British telecom satellite to be launched from Baikonur

The telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-5F1 will be launched according to the already tested scheme of orbiting the satellite

© EPA/ITAR-TASS/SERGEI CHIRIKOV

MOSCOW, December 08, 5:55 /ITAR-TASS/. A rocket Proton-M with the British telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-5F1 will be launched from the Russian spaceport Baikonur on Sunday, the press service of the Khrunichev State Space Research-and-Production Centre told Itar-Tass.

“The launch of the telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-5F1 is scheduled at 16:12 Moscow time on Sunday, December 8, from the spaceport Baikonur,” the press service reported.

The telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-5F1 will be launched according to the already tested scheme of orbiting the satellite.

The first three stages of the rocket Proton-M will put on the suborbital trajectory the upper stage rocket Briz-M carrying the telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-5F1. Then the upper stage rocket Briz-M will bring the satellite on the designated orbit. After that the telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-5F1 will shift to the geostationary orbit by means of its engine and will take the designated point of 63 east longitude.

The British telecommunications satellite will separate from the upper stage rocket 15.5 hours after the launch.

The telecommunications satellite Inmarsat-5F1 is produced by the U.S. company Boeing Satellite Systems on the basis of the satellite platform BSS-702HP on the order from the British satellite communications operator Inmarsat Plc. The launching weight of the satellite makes more than six tonnes.

The launch vehicle Proton-M is an upgraded modification of the rocket Proton-K. The rocket has improved energy-mass, operational and ecological features. The first launch of the rocket Proton-M with the upper stage rocket was made on April 7, 2001.

The Russian-U.S. joint venture International Launch Services Inc. (ILS) has concluded a contract for the services to launch the rocket Proton.

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