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December 21, 2018
Proton-M carrying Blagovest No. 13L lift off
Today, December 21, the Proton-M space rocket with a spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
All prelaunch operations, launch and flight of the Proton-M launch vehicle were carried out in the normal mode. The successful launch of the spacecraft into the target orbit was provided by the Briz-M upper stage.
The new satellite has been accepted for control by the ground-based means of the Air and Space Forces (VKS) of Russia.
It was the 2nd in 2018 and the 418th launch in the history of the Proton launch vehicle, (including all its modifications).
The Proton carrier rocket and the Briz-M upper stage were developed and mass-produced by the Center named after M. V. Khrunichev. The Proton-M PH is an upgraded version of the heavy-duty Proton carrier rocket with improved operational and environmental performance. Thanks to the use of the Briz-M upper stage, the Proton-M rocket is capable of delivering a payload of more than 6 tons to a geotransition orbit. The first launch of the Proton-M booster with the upper stage Breeze-M took place on April 7, 2001 of the year. Since then, this modification of the Proton rocket has been used in the 104th space launches.
Blagovest No. 13L satellite
The Blagovest No. 13L communications satellite to cover Russian territory and provide high-speed Internet, television and radio broadcast, and voice and video conferencing services for Russian domestic and military users.
Roscosmos Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/25882/
Images, Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Günter Space Page/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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