The Express-AM satellite, to be used for television and telephone communications, was launched from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on Saturday at 0028 GMT, the news agency reported.

The new generation satellite built in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk weighs 2,600 kilogrammes (2.5 tons).

The Express-AM is the second communications satellite to be launched this month and is expected to remain in orbit for seven years.

Friday's launch was postponed when technicians found a fault in the fuel system.

The satellite is equipped with 17 communications transponders built by the French company Alcatel Espace.

The Baikonur Federal Space Center told Interfax that the tests were vital because the booster's designer, the Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, intended to use it in the future on the new-generation Proton-M and Angara rockets.

The first test launches in July last year were not successful. One of the engines of the second stage of the Proton rocket exploded in flight. The booster had not been engaged.

The Baikonur federal space center said the proton carrying the Gorizont satellite was launched from the No. 24 pad, which had not been used for more than 20 years. The pad has been modernized for use not only for Proton-K rockets powered by Briz-M blocks, but also for the future Proton-M rockets. Specialists estimate that it cost 260 million rubles to ready the pad for the launch. Khrunichev financed the project.