spacetoday.net: Proton launches Canadian communications satellite

Posted: Tue, Apr 10, 2007, 10:21 AM ET (1421 GMT)
Proton launch of Anik F3 (ILS)

A Proton rocket successfully launched a communications satellite for a Canadian company early Tuesday. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 6:54 pm EDT Monday (2254 GMT Monday, 4:54 am Tuesday local time) carrying the Anik F3 satellite. The Proton's Breeze-M upper stage deployed the satellite in orbit 9 hours and 11 minutes later. The Anik F3 is an EADS Astrium Eurostar 3000 model weighing about 4,640 kilograms, and carrying a mix of C-, Ku-, and Ka-band transponders. The spacecraft, owned by Canadian operator Telesat, will be located at 118.7 degrees west in GEO and be used for a variety of communications services. The launch is the first commercial launch this year for the Proton.