Posted: Sun, Nov 18, 2007, 9:54 AM ET (1454 GMT)
A Proton rocket successfully launched a European communications satellite early Sunday in the Proton's first commercial flight since a September launch failure. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:39 pm EST Saturday (2239 GMT Saturday, 4:39 am Sunday local time) and released its payload, Sirius 4, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit a little over nine hours later. The spacecraft, a Lockheed Martin A2100AX model, weighed 4,385 kilograms and carries 52 Ku-band and 2 Ka-band transponders. The satellite, to be located at 5 degrees east in GEO, will be used by SES Sirius, a Swedish satellite operator majority-owned by SES Astra, will provide broadcast and broadband services across Europe. The launch was the first commercial Proton launch since the September launch of JCSAT 11, which ended in failure when the Proton's second stage failed to separate from the first stage. The Proton carried out a Russian government launch last month.
