The Proton-M missile brought the Express-Am6 communications satellite in an intermediate orbit

The head part of the Breeze-M and Russian Express-Am6 Higher Bloc separated from the Proton-M launch vehicle, which started today, on October 21, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, TASS was told in the Roskosmos press service.

"The withdrawal of a spacecraft to the calculated orbit is scheduled for Wednesday, October 22, at 04:31 Moscow time," the federal space agency said.

This is the sixth of the launch using Proton and the second after the May accident of this media. The previous successful launch took place on September 28, when the Russian satellite-retransaler "Ray" was brought into orbit.

Express-AM6 was created by order of the Space Communication enterprise on the basis of the Express-21 heavy-class platform and is intended to ensure a wide range of communication and broadcasting services in Russia. The period of active existence of the device is 15 years, and the payload includes 11 antennas and 72 transponders of various ranges.

“Express AM6” is the second (after “Express AM5”) Russian heavy -class companion -class companion with a large number of transponders and a developed antenna system, RIA Novosti recalls. As in the case of Express AM5, OJSC ISS signed an agreement with the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NIIR for the supply of payload modules for Express AM6. NIIR integrated the equipment of the onboard relay complex, and the Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA, Canada). In addition, specialists of ISS OJSC also took part in the manufacture of antenna systems of the spacecraft: they created antennas reflectors with contour orientation diagrams.