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Proton-M carrier rocket with Elektro-L satellite launched from Baikonur — Roscosmos

The head section will separate from the third stage 585 seconds after launch, then the launch of the satellite into orbit will continue for several hours by the DM-03 upper stage

© Roscosmos Press Office/TASS

MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. The Proton-M carrier rocket with Electro-L number 4 meteorological satellite launched on Sunday from pad No. 81 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, according to the broadcast of Roscosmos.

The head section will separate from the third stage 585 seconds after launch. Then the launch of the satellite into orbit will continue for several hours by the DM-03 upper stage.

The Elektro-L satellites, while on geostationary orbit, make it possible to receive and process multispectral images of cloudiness and the underlying earth's surface of the entire observable Earth disk, receive meteorological data in orbit, perform telecommunication functions in terms of distribution, exchange of hydrometeorological and cosmogeophysical data, and also relay signals from emergency beacons of the Cospas-Sarsat system.

The first Elektro-L satellite was launched in January 2011. In October 2016, contact with it was lost. Elektro-L number 2 went into orbit in 2015, and Elektro-L number 3 in 2019. They continue to operate.

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