Russia

Russia to Launch Luch-5 Relay Satellite in March

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket carrying a Luch-5 relay satellite will be launched from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in March, the Yuzhny Space Center of the cosmodrome said on Saturday.
Sputnik
"This is Russia's Luch-5 relay satellite. It was delivered to the cosmodrome this week... In March, it will be launched into space on a Proton," the center said in a video uploaded to its YouTube channel.
Two years ago, sources in the space and rocket industry told Sputnik that the launch of the carrier rocket with the satellite - initially scheduled for 2021 - had been postponed to 2022. However, the satellite has not been launched yet.
Russia's Luch multifunctional space system relay currently consists of three satellite-relays, Luch-5A, Luch-5B and Luch-5V, deployed to orbit from 2011-2014. The satellites relay information to and from spacecraft, other vehicles and ground stations on Earth.
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