MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. The Proton-M carrier rocket with the Electro-L No5 hydrometeorological satellite will be blasted off from the Baikonur spaceport.

This will be Proton’s first launch over nearly three years, with the previous launch being carried out in 2023. In addition, this will be the last launch of the DM-type upper stage.

The launch was initially planned for December 15, 2025 but was postponed to fix shortcomings. "During the planned pre-launch checks of all systems, a local discrepancy was diagnosed in the upper stage of the rocket. The start of the launch vehicle was postponed to eliminate the shortcomings. On February 9, the state commission permitted to install the Proton-M at the Baikonur launch pad.

Electro-L hydrometeorological satellites, being in geostationary orbit, receive and process multispectral images of clouds and the underlying Earth's surface of the entire observed disk of the Earth, receive hydrometeorological data in orbit, perform telecommunication functions by disseminating, exchanging hydrometeorological and heliogeophysical data, and relaying signals from emergency radio beacons of the COSPAS-SARSAT system.

The first Electro-L satellite was launched in 2011, communication with it was lost in 2016. Electro-L No. 2 entered orbit in 2015, and No. 3 in 2019.