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Follow the link to learn moreThe European telecommunications satellite Eutelsat-9B has successfully reached the final orbit following the first launch of a Proton-M launch vehicle in 2016, a spokesperson for the Roscosmos state corporation told Interfax-AVN on Jan. 30 morning.
"The satellite normally separated from the upper stage at 10:32 a.m. Moscow time," he said.
The Eutelsat-9B will provide telecommunications services in Germany, Italy, Greece, and also in the North European and Baltic countries. It should operate in orbit for 15 years.
The Proton-M launch vehicle carrying the Eutelsat-9B lifted off from the Baikonur space center in the early hours of January 30. This was the first launch of a Proton vehicle in 2016. This rocket was sent into space eight times in 2015.
The January 30 launch was accomplished under a long-term contract for Proton-M launch services concluded in October 2015 between International Launch Service (ILS), a subsidiary of the Khrunichev Space Research and Production Center, and Eutelsat Communications, a leading satellite communications operator based in Paris, France.
Proton vehicles have sent 11 satellites into space for the Eutelsat orbital constellation over the past 15 years.
