Posted: Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:04 AM ET (1204 GMT)
A Proton rocket launched Russian and Israeli communications satellites on Sunday. The Proton M rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:17 am EST (1117 GMT, 5:17 pm local time) Sunday, carrying the Luch-5A and AMOS-5 satellites. The rocket's Briz-M upper stage placed the satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits about nine hours after liftoff. Luch-5A is a data relay satellite for the Russian space agency Roscosmos that will be used for communications with the Russian segment of the ISS. AMOS-5 is a commercial communications satellite built by Russian company ISS Reshetnev for Israeli satellite operator Spacecom. AMOS-5 will provide communications services in C- and Ku-bands from 17 degrees east.

Related Links:

•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  Arutz Sheva article
•  Spacecom press release