Селитренное городище

NEW-GENERATION SATELLITE PUT INTO ORBIT BY PROTON-K BOOSTER

According to spokesman for the Russian Space Force, Ekspress-AM11, a new-generation communications satellite was launched from the Baikonur spaceport on Monday night. The satellite was put into orbit by Russian booster rocket Proton-K equipped with a booster block DM traveling at 7.10 m/s.

The space vehicle is developed by the Reshetov production and research association of applied mechanics based in Krasnoyarsk in cooperation with France?s Alcatel Space. It carries 26 C-band transponders (36 Mhz) and 4 K-band transponders (54 Mhz).

A spokesman for Space Communications company, ?the satellite is another step in the implementation of the Federal space program of Russian Federation.? According to him, ?the satellite is the second one out of five space vehicles that make up a new series code-named Ekspress-AM. The satellites should be built and put to orbit until the end of 2004. The first satellite of the above series was successfully launched in December of 2003.

The latest satellite was deployed into orbit at 96.5 degrees of eastern longitude. It will operate as part of an orbital satellite group ?Space communications? once the satellite?s systems are checked and deemed fully operational.?

The satellite?s guaranteed service life is 12 years. It will be capable of covering the territories of Russia, Middle East and Asia when operating in a fixed beam mode. Two beams of the satellite can be redirected to provide a wide variety of modern communication services to customers in Russia, CIS countries. It can also work for the benefit of those who live in East Africa, South East Asia and Australia.

Ekspress-AM11 is designed for transmitting digital TV signals, telephone signals, and broad band Internet traffic. It?s also aimed at developing VSAT networks and creating corporate communications networks. Providing multimedia services is one of many satellite?s duties.

Specialists will be monitoring operations of all the systems of the new satellite at every stage of the lunch using the Ground Control Complex which was commissioned in December 2003. The ground control is charged with maintaining uninterrupted control over new space vehicles of the Russian Space Force during the launch and operations in orbit.