Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: Proton-M

  • ExoMars rover now ‘very unlikely’ to launch in 2022

    Cullen DesforgesMarch 1st, 2022

    In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency said its joint robotic ExoMars mission with Russia is unlikely to launch in 2022.

  • Spektr-RG telescope launched atop Proton-M rocket

    Patrick AttwellJuly 14th, 2019

    The second Proton launch of 2019 took to the skies above the Baikonur Cosmodrome today with the Spektr-RG telescope for the Russian and German space agencies. It marked the start of a mission some 24 years in the making.

  • Blagovest-13L launched by Russian Proton rocket

    Heather SmithDecember 21st, 2018

    Lifting off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a Russian Proton-M rocket soared into the sky to orbit a military satellite called Blagovest-13L.

  • Angara rocket family to replace Proton launchers NET 2024

    Tomasz NowakowskiAugust 17th, 2018

    Angara rockets could fully replace Russia’s long-serving Soviet-era Proton launch vehicles as early as 2024. This is according to an industry official, who made the remark at an aerospace conference in the city of Kazan.

  • Proton-M launches Blagovest 12L satellite for Russian Aerospace Forces

    Tomasz NowakowskiApril 18th, 2018

    The Russian military has expanded its fleet of communications satellites with the launch of the Blagovest 12L spacecraft on Wednesday, April 18.

  • Russia to launch Blagovest 12L military comsat April 18

    Tomasz NowakowskiApril 17th, 2018

    Russia is in the final stage of preparations to launch its Proton-M rocket with the Blagovest 12L military communications satellite. Liftoff is scheduled to take place at 6:12 p.m. EDT (22:12 GMT) April 18, 2018, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

  • Proton-M blasts off from Baikonur with AsiaSat 9 telecom satellite

    Tomasz NowakowskiSeptember 28th, 2017

    International Launch Services (ILS) successfully conducted its third mission this year, launching its workhorse Proton-M rocket carrying the AsiaSat 9 communications satellite into orbit. The launcher lifted off at exactly 18:52 UTC (14:52 EDT) on Thursday, September 28, from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

  • Proton-M launches from Baikonur with Amazonas 5 telecom satellite

    Tomasz NowakowskiSeptember 11th, 2017

    International Launch Services (ILS) has successfully launched into space its Proton-M rocket carrying the Amazonas 5 communications satellite for Spanish operator Hispasat. The launch was conducted on Sept. 11 at 19:23 GMT (3:23 p.m. EDT) from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

  • Proton-M launches military satellite into orbit

    Tomasz NowakowskiAugust 17th, 2017

    A military communications satellite, known as Blagovest 11L, has been successfully launched into space by a Proton-M / Briz-M heavy-lift rocket. The launch vehicle thundered off from Site 81/24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at exactly 4:07 a.m. local time on Thursday, Aug. 17 (22:07 GMT / 6:07 p.m. EDT on Aug. 16).

  • As space debris concerns grow, AMC-9 satellite appears to be adding to the problem

    Jason RhianJuly 6th, 2017

    Ever since the start of the Space Age in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik, humanity has left an ever-increasing amount of debris in orbit, comprising satellites, probes, and spent rockets. However, not all of this debris harmlessly retraces arcs above Earth – as the AMC-9 satellite is currently demonstrating.

  • Proton-M returns to flight with launch of EchoStar 21

    Tomasz NowakowskiJune 8th, 2017

    After a delay of nearly one year, International Launch Services (ILS) launched the EchoStar 21 communications satellite atop a Proton-M rocket from Site 81/24 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Liftoff took place at 11:45 p.m. EDT on June 7 (03:45 GMT on June 8), 2017.

  • Russia postpones two rocket launches

    Tomasz NowakowskiSeptember 8th, 2016

    Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation announced Sept. 1 the decision to postpone its two rocket launches slated for October this year. According to the corporation’s press service, the liftoff of the Proton-M rocket with the EchoStar 21 satellite was rescheduled from Oct. 10 to Nov. 23, while the launch of Soyuz-2.1a booster carrying the Kanopus-V-IK spacecraft was postponed from October to Dec. 22.

  • Proton-M launcher soars skyward with communications satellite

    Tomasz NowakowskiJune 9th, 2016

    International Launch Services (ILS) conducted a successful launch of its Proton-M booster carrying a communications satellite for Intelsat. The rocket, with the Intelsat-31/DLA-2 spacecraft, lifted off at exactly 3:10 a.m. EDT (07:10 GMT) on June 9 from Launch Pad 24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

  • Proton-M to launch Intelsat 31 communications satellite on Wednesday

    Tomasz NowakowskiJune 6th, 2016

    A Russian Proton-M rocket is slated to launch the Intelsat 31 communications satellite on Wednesday, June 8, at 3:10 a.m. EDT (07:10 GMT) from Launch Pad 24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

  • Russian ullage rocket engine explodes in space

    Tomasz NowakowskiJune 4th, 2016

    The U.S. Joint Space Operations Center (JspOC), which tracks space debris, has reported that a Russian Ullage rocket motor exploded in space at approximately 5:20 a.m. EDT (9:20 GMT) on Wednesday, June 1. According to a statement issued by JspOC, the motor was orbiting the Earth in a highly elliptical orbit and suffered a break-up—disintegrating into at least 20 pieces.