AKIPRESS.COM - The Russian Express-AM6 communications satellite has separated from the Briz-M booster and was deployed into the calculated orbit, the press service of Russia’s Roscosmos Federal Space Agency told TASS.

“The space vehicle separated at the estimated time”, the press service said.

The Proton-M carrier rocket with the Express-AM6 communications satellite lifted off from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, at 19:09 Moscow time on Tuesday, and ten minutes later the satellite with the Briz-M booster separated from the rocket, the press service said.

This is the sixth this year Proton launch and the second after an accident in May this year. The previous successful launch took place on September 28 when the Russian satellite Lutch was orbited.

In an accident on May 16, a Proton-M rocket with the satellite Express-AM4R aboard launched from the Baikonur launch pad that Russia leases from Kazakhstan burst into flames in midair.

The Express-AM6 is a satellite that provides communications and broadcasting services in Russia. The lifetime of the spacecraft is 15 years.

The director general at Russian Satellite Communications Company, Yuri Prokhorov, said earlier the enterprise plans to add nine advanced communications satellites to its orbital grouping by 2020. Thus, the number of satellites will reach 20.