Yamal-601, built by Franco-Italian Thales Alenia Space at the request of Gazprom Space Systems, was launched into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Proton-M carrier rocket on 30 May. Yamal-601 is designed to replace the Yamal-202 satellite that is currently in orbit. Its service area will be the European part of Russia, including the Kaliningrad Region, the Urals, and Western Siberia.
It will operate in the C- and Ku-bands, covering the visible part of Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe, the Middle East, as well as part of Southeast Asia, and provide services to the corporate sector, regional administrations, small businesses, and individuals.
The satellite has the greatest capacity of all satellites in the Russian orbital group, amounting to 30 gigabits per second.
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