MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. The Briz-M upper stage with the Yamal-601 satellite has separated from the third stage of the Proton-M carrier rocket that was blasted off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan earlier on Thursday. The launch was telecast by the Russian state corporation Roscosmos.

The satellite is to separate from the booster in about nine hours after the launch.

The Proton-M carrier rocket was blasted off at 20:42 Moscow time. It is the first Proton-M launch in 2019. The previous such launch was performed on December 21, 2018 when the carrier rocket put in orbit a Rusian defense ministry satellite.

The Yamal-601 satellite has been made on order from Gazprom Space Systems at the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems using components supplied by Thales Alenia Space.

The Yamal-601 is intended for the planned replacement of the Yamal-202 satellite. The multi-beam service zone in the Ka-band will cover the most populated part of the territory of Russia visible from the position of 49 degrees east longitude where the satellite will be located (the European part of Russia, including the Kaliningrad Region, the Urals and West Siberia).

The Ka-band allows providing economically efficient high-speed broadband services to the corporate sector, regional administrations, small businesses and individuals.

The Yamal-601 satellite in the C-band will form a fixed beam with a contour diagram and a semi-global service area that will cover the visible part of the territory of Russia, the CIS countries, Europe, the Middle East and part of Southeast Asia.