Russia’s Express-AM2 communications and digital broadcasting satellite was reportedly put into its designated orbit at 8:05 a.m. Moscow time (0405 GMT) on Wednesday.
“It was a routine operation. All systems on the rocket carrier and the booster, which helped place the satellite into its geostationary orbit, functioned normally,” a Federal Space Agency spokesman was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
The Express-AM2 was launched by Russia’s Proton-K rocket carrier, which took off from the Baikonur space base, in Kazakhstan, at 01:31 a.m. Moscow time 2131 GMT Tuesday).
The satellite, co-produced by Russia and French telecommunications company Alcatel, will be in service for 12 years. Its signals will cover Russia (Kamchatka peninsula not included), India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and parts of China.
The new satellite will provide telecommunications, digital TV and radio services. It is also designed to guarantee communications for Russia’s government officials.
Russia currently has four Express-AM series satellites in space. A fifth one, an Express-AM3, is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter this year.
