Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket with a U.S. telecoms satellite, Intelsat-22, will be launched on late Sunday afternoon from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.
“The launch has been scheduled for 4:12 p.m. Moscow time [12:12 GMT]. The separation of the spacecraft from the Breeze-M booster has been slated for 7:40 a.m. Moscow time on Monday [3:40 GMT],” the spokesman said.
The launch of the Proton-M is conducted under a contract concluded by International Launch Services Inc. (ILS), which is owned by the Khrunichev Center, RSC Energia and U.S. firm Space Transport Inc.
Intelsat-22 has been built by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems for Intelsat Ltd., which operates the world's most extensive satellite network, comprising over 50 satellites.
The satellite is equipped with 48 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders and will provide telecommunications services to customers in Africa, South-East Asia, and the Middle East.
Intelsat-22 also carries UHF payload under a $167-mln contract with the Australian Defense Ministry.
