Russia launches Dutch SES-4 telecoms satellite February 15, 2012 - 21:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Russian Proton-M launch vehicle carrying the Dutch SES-4 (NSS-14) telecoms satellite lifted off on Tuesday, February 14 from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan after a series of delays caused by technical problems, Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said, according to RIA Novosti. “The launch occurred at the calculated time - 11:36 p.m. Moscow time [19:36 GMT],” Roscosmos said. “The separation of the satellite from the launch vehicle is expected at 08:48 a.m. Moscow time [04:48 GMT] on February 15.” The blastoff was the 70th commercial launch of a Proton carrier rocket since 1995 under contracts concluded by International Launch Services Inc. (ILS). ILS initially had to postpone the launch planned for December 26, 2011 after a problem affecting the avionics unit of the rocket’s Briz-M upper stage was discovered. The launch was moved to a later date for the second time on January 28 due to an electrical problem affecting the Proton rocket. The SES-4 is the largest and most powerful in the group of SES satellites, built by U.S. company Space Systems/Loral for the Dutch operator SES World Skies, which is now a subsidiary of Luxemburg-based SES S.A. It was designed to provide various satellite services to customers in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Latin America. Equipped with 52 C-band and 72 Ku-band transponders, the 5.8-ton satellite has a life span of 15 years. The SES-4 will be deployed over the Atlantic Ocean region, enabling the incumbent NSS-7 satellite to move to a new orbital position.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity  The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization.Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia.Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty.Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |
