Article Posted on : - Mar 21, 2010

U.S. telecommunications satellite Echostar 14

MOSCOW (BNS): A Russian Proton-M carrier rocket carried a U.S. telecommunications satellite Echostar 14 into space on Sunday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, a media report said.

"The Proton-M rocket successfully put the EchoStar 14 satellite into orbit at 06.36 Moscow time [02.36 GMT] on Sunday," RIA Novosti quoted a Roscosmos spokesman as saying.

The Russian-U.S. joint venture International Launch Services concluded a launch contract of the satellite with the U.S. telecommunications company Echostar.

The 6.3-ton spacecraft is expected to separate from the Briz-M booster and take the position at 119 degrees west in the geostationary orbit about nine hours after the launch, the report said.

EchoStar 14 has been built by Space Systems/Loral and is based on the company's LS-1300 platform, which features "qualified, flight proven subsystems and a long record of reliable operation."