20.10 Russia Set to Orbit US Telecoms Satellite
MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) A Proton-M carrier rocket with a US telecoms satellite will lift off on Sunday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Russias space agency Roscosmos said.
The launch of Proton-M carrying the Sirius FM-6 satellite has been scheduled for 10.13 pm Moscow time [18:13 GMT] on October 20, a Roscosmos spokesman said Saturday.
The separation of the satellite from the Briz-M booster is expected at 07.24 am Moscow time [03:24 GMT] on Monday, the official added.
It will be a second Proton mission after a launch failure in July when a Proton-M rocket carrying three satellites for the Glonass positioning system, Russias answer to the GPS, crashed in a ball of flames, seconds after blasting off from Baikonur.
During the first launch on September 30, following a three-month suspension, a Proton-M successfully orbited the Astra 2E telecoms satellite, manufactured in France for Luxembourg-based SES S.A. satellite operator.
Sirius FM-6 is a high-power geostationary satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for SiriusXM, Americas largest radio broadcaster measured by revenue and one of the worlds largest pure-play audio entertainment companies.
