MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian Proton-M launch vehicle delivered early on Wednesday a European telecommunications satellite into a designated orbit, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said.
“The Eutelsat W3D satellite has successfully separated from the Briz-M booster,” a Roscosmos spokesman said.
The Proton-M rocket blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on Tuesday. It was the 386th launch of a Proton rocket and the third Proton launch this year.
The W3D satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space for Paris-based Eutelsat on the Spacebus 4000 C3 platform. The 5,400 kg (11,900 lbs) satellite has a service life of 15 years.
It will provide extensive Ku-band coverage across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia for video links and data networks as well as Direct-to-Home (DTH) reception and Internet services.
