Article Posted on : - Oct 06, 2011

A file photo of Russian-Ukrainian Zenit-2SB carrier rocket.

MOSCOW (BNS): Russian-Ukrainian Zenit-2SB carrier rocket has successfully placed the US Intelsat 18 telecommunications satellite into orbit on Thursday, a media report said.

According to RIA Novosti, the launch took place at 21:00 GMT on Wednesday from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.

The satellite is equipped with 32 transponders and will provide telecommunications services to subscribers in East Asia, US West Coast and the Pacific Region.

Till now, overall 50 satellites have been operated through the Intelsat Ltd in worldwide basis.

The Yuzhnoye Design Bureau has produced the Zenit-2, a medium-lift two-stage rocket in Dnepropetrovsk. Its DM-SLB stage is made by Russian space corporation Energia, it said.