MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Russian Proton-M carrier rocket lifted off on Friday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan to orbit a Turkish telecommunications satellite, Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.
The launch was carried out on schedule at 11.40 pm Moscow time (20:40 GMT). The satellite is expected to reach its designated geostationary orbit at around 09.00 am Moscow time on Saturday.
Turksat-4B is the second satellite built for Turksat Satellite Communication, Cable TV and Operation A.S. company by Japan's Mitsubishi Electric (MELCO) corporation. The spacecraft will beam television and Internet services across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
Russia launched the first Turkish satellite in the series, the Turksat-4A, in February 2014.
