MOSCOW, September 23 (RIA Novosti) – The carrier rocket Proton-M with the Luch spacecraft onboard has been installed on the launch pad at the Baikonur space center, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center representative told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
"The State Commission has made a decision to move out and install the rocket Proton-M with the Breeze-M upper stage and Luch spacecraft on the launch pad," he said.
The Proton-M has been installed in a vertical position on the launch pad and the work plan for the next few days includes equipment checks and fueling the carrier rocket with propellant components and compressed gases.
The launch of the Luch spacecraft is scheduled for September 28. This will be the fifth Proton launch of 2014.
The Luch was designed and manufactured by JSC Information Satellite Systems, Reshetnev Company.
Launched on May 16, from Baikonur, the Proton-M carrier rocket collided with communications satellite Express АМ4R and burned up in the atmosphere above China.
The Proton is the largest of Russia’s fleet of space launch vehicles, and has carried both government and commercial payloads.
