A Russian Proton rocket overcame a one-week delay to launch two communications satellites into space Monday (Dec. 13).
The Express-AMU3 and Express-AMU7 spacecraft flew to space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:07 a.m. EST (1207 GMT or 5:07 p.m. native time). Russian space company Roscosmos reported launch success and stated the higher stage rocket, Briz-M, would place the satellites into their goal orbit throughout 5 extra burns.
“All stages of the flight (separation of the stages and payload fairing jettison) went nominally,” Roscosmos reported in a press release. A video of the launch confirmed clouds brushing by the rocket because it made a nighttime climb into the sky.
The Proton-M rocket was initially alleged to launch Dec. 6, however the launch was delayed a number of days as a result of want to deal with a “deficiency” within the Briz-M booster, state media TASS reported earlier in December.
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Assisted by Briz-M, the 2 satellites will transition to an altitude between 11,600 miles and 32,800 miles (between 18,700 km and 52,800 km) to finally transfer into geosynchronous orbit, at 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers). Geosynchronous orbit will enable a comparatively mounted place over Russia because the Earth rotates.
The satellite pair is supposed to serve the Russian Federation’s communications and broadcasting wants, together with “fixed and mobile communications, television and radio broadcasting services, broadband high-speed access to information resources and other applications,” Roscosmos stated of the launch.
The final Express launch, which additionally sent two satellites aloft efficiently, occurred in July 2020. The first of the satellite collection was launched in October 1994 to exchange an older set of satellites generally known as Gorizont, then in use since 1979, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com.
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