Russia is preparing to launch a U.S. communications satellite into orbit on May 21, the Russian space agency Roskosmos has announced.
A Briz-M booster is being prepared at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the launch of the DirecTV 8, a U.S. telecommunications satellite, the Russian news agency Interfax reported Wednesday.
“The booster unit was brought to Baikonur on April 25 and has been moved to site 921-50, where assembly and test operations will be conducted,” Roskosmos announced.
The Russian space agency’s technical control department said checks would be made on the booster’s electrical and docking systems, Interfax reported.
A Proton-M carrier rocket intended to carry the U.S. satellite is also being prepared for the launch.
Khrunichev space corporation experts are assembling the first and second stages of the carrier rocket, while U.S. experts are conducting independent control checks on the satellite.
