Russian Communication Satellite Placed in Orbit

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The Russian communication satellite Express-AM2, launched from Baikonur at night on the Proton-K booster rocket, successfully separated from the DM accelerating unit at 08.05 Moscow time on 30th March 2005 and entered a transfer orbit, a representative of Roskosmos told RIA Novosti. The domestic communications satellite will be able to reach large over a billion people across large parts of Asia (covering India, Nepal, Korea, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and parts of China).

The satellite is co-produced by Russia and French telecommunications company Alcatel. It is the first space vehicle of the Express-AM series with an enhanced carrying capacity of four S-range (72 MHz) transponders.

The 5,720-pound satellite has a lifetime of at least 12 years and is the fourth of five craft in the new-generation Express AM series, which began launches in December 2003. The final component - Express AM-3 - is set for lift-off later this spring. The Express AM satellite fleet contains Russia's most powerful civilian-operated domestic communications birds.

The new space vehicle is designed to accomplish state tasks (mobile presidential and government communication, federal television and radio broadcasting, and establishment of special satellite communication networks), and to render a package of multiservices (digital television and radio broadcasting, telephony, video conference communication, transmission of data, and broadband access to Internet). Furthermore, the new satellite will be used to develop communication networks on the basis of VSAT technology, to establish departmental and corporate networks, and to render multimedia services (remote-controlled education and telemedicine).

The Express-AM2 is the fourth of five satellites of the new Express-AM series which the Federal Space Programme of Russia envisages to produce and put into operation before the end of 2005. The first three satellites of this series are already successfully working in orbit. Tuesday's flight marked the second for Proton in 2005, and the 313th launch of a variant of the vehicle since it began flying 40 years ago. The next Proton is expected to launch in May with the DirecTV-8 direct-to-home broadcasting satellite under the commercial auspices of International Launch Services.

Source: M&C Tech News

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