Proton rocket launched ahead of space station mission
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) -- A Russian Proton rocket carrying a U.S. telecommunications satellite took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan.
The Proton blasted off Saturday at 6.28 am (0028 GMT) and put the satellite into orbit six-and-half hours later at a height of about 36,000 km, officials at the cosmodrome said.
The launch was originally set for Friday morning but was postponed for 24 hours because of a fault in the fueling system at the cosmodrome.
The rocket was the second Proton to be powered by a specially modified engine, improved after two Protons crashed over Kazakhstan last year.
The accidents were attributed to engine faults and prompted Kazakhstan to slap a temporary ban on launches from Baikonur, which it leases to Russia. The ban was lifted in February and Saturday's Proton launch was the fifth since then.
Space officials said the missions were paving the way for the launch of the Russian-built Zvezda module -- the living quarters of the $60 billion International Space Station.
The module is to be launched on a Proton rocket between July 8-12, about two years behind schedule. The United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan are also participating in the International Space Station.
Two more Protons are scheduled to take off before the Zvezda. The first will take place on July 1, with a commercial satellite on board. The second, on July 5, will carry communications equipment for the International Space Station.
The Proton is the workhorse of the Russian space program, which relies to a large extent on funds earned from international commercial launches. :grandmais
