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Russia launches Proton-M carrier rocket with Luch relay satellite

The rocket with the Briz-M upper stage and the Luch-5X spacecraft was launched from Site 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. The Proton-M carrier rocket with the Briz-M upper stage and the Luch-5X relay satellite was launched from the Baikonur space center on Monday, Russia’s state-run space corporation Roscosmos said in a statement.

"At 02:13 a.m. today [on Monday], the Proton-M carrier rocket with the Briz-M upper stage and the Luch-5X spacecraft was launched from Site 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome," Roscosmos said.

The booster successfully separated from the Proton-M’s third stage and is currently putting the satellite on the designated orbit, the corporation added.

This was Russia’s fourth launch of carrier rockets this year. Both the Proton-M and the Briz-M booster were manufactured at the Khrunichev Center (part of Roscosmos).

The Luch multifunctional space relay system was put into trial operation in February 2016. Specifically, it enables data exchange between the Russian segment of the International Space Station and the Mission Control Center.

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