A Proton-M carrier rocket on Tuesday flied a Briz-M upper stage and an Express-AM6 communications satellite into space, said Russia's federal space agency, Roscosmos.
The rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur space center at 7:09 p.m. local time (1509 GMT). "The upper stage and the spacecraft have separated from the launch vehicle's third stage," Interfax news agency quoted a Roscosmos spokesperson as saying.
The satellite is expected to reach the target orbit at an average altitude of around 37,800 km with four fringes of the propulsion unit of the Briz-M upper stage, and they are expected to separate at around 4:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT) on Wednesday.
This was the sixth launch with the use of a Proton-M rocket in 2014 and the 399th launch in its flight history. On May 16, the third stage of a Proton-M launch vehicle failed after liftoff and a Russian communications satellite Express-AM4R was lost.
The Express-AM6 is designed to provide a broad spectrum of communications and broadcasting services across Russia. The satellite is expected to stay active for 15 years. Its payload includes 11 antennas and 72 C, Ku, Ka, and L band transponders.