Proton lifts off from Baikonur
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 28, 2014
A Proton rocket delivered two communications satellites to orbit Monday after a nine-hour ascent from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, achieving a successful launch with payloads for Russia and Kazakhstan.
The Luch 5V and Kazsat 3 spacecraft, both manufactured by Russian satellite-builder ISS Reshetnev, launched at 0425 GMT (12:25 a.m. EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The satellites were mounted on top of a Proton rocket, which roared away from the historic space base at 10:25 a.m. local time. The three-stage Proton booster and Breeze M upper stage put the dual-payload package in a preliminary orbit about 15 minutes later.
The launch marked the 396th flight of a Proton rocket since 1965 and the Proton's third mission of the year. The Proton and Breeze M are built by Moscow-based Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.
The hydrazine-fueled Breeze M upper stage fired several times before releasing Luch 5V at 1317 GMT (9:17 a.m. EDT), followed by deployment of Kazsat 3 about 40 minutes later, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.
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Photo credit: Roscosmos
Photo credit: Roscosmos
Photo credit: Roscosmos
Photo credit: Roscosmos
Photo credit: Roscosmos
Photo credit: Roscosmos
Photo credit: Roscosmos
Photo credit: Roscosmos
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