COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- A joint Russian-European communications satellite was named after Arthur C. Clarke, a science-fiction writer who predicted space travel before rockets were even tested, his office said Wednesday.
The SESAT satellite, designed to beam signals to Eastern Europe, Siberia, North Africa, the Middle East and India, was launched atop a Proton booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (21:06 GMT) Monday (Tuesday, Moscow Time).
The satellite of the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization successfully separated from the rocket six hours and 35 minutes after launch and was followed by the deployment of the solar array and antenna.
SESAT is scheduled to go into service in June and its transponders will be used for a full range of services including data and video broadcasting, internet connections, high-speed internet access, distance-learning, transfer of software and mobile phones.
," said EUTELSAT Director General Giuliano Berretta.
Paris-based EUTELSAT is Europe's leading satellite operator and ranks as one of the largest globally, reaching across Europe, large parts of Africa and the Middle East and connectivity with America.
Clarke, who was knighted last year, has made Sri Lanka, a small tropical-island nation off India's southern tip, his home.
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