A communications satellite built by Lockheed Martin arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan on Wednesday, setting the stage for its launch aboard the controversial Russian Proton rocket.
Kazakhstan recently lifted the ban on the launch of Proton rockets, after the completion of an investigation into a Proton crash on July 5 that scorched the ground and spread metal chunks around the area.
The 3,827 pound (1,736 kilogram) satellite, called LMI-1, is scheduled to take off on the Proton on September 28.
It will follow the another Proton rocket launch on September 6 -- the first since the ban was lifted.
LMI-1 will serve as a communication satellite for Russia, which has seen a rapid increase in demand for telecommunication services. The satellite will also serve Asia, Africa, and Eastern and Central Europe.
It will be operated by a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and the Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, a 23-member organization that operates communications satellites.
"This satellite will bring superior telecommunications coverage to an area that will benefit greatly from these space-based services," LMI-1's program manager, Ralph Littreal, said in a statement. "We're looking forward to providing a reliable, high-power service to the people in this region and we are quite proud of this venture with our Russian partners in Intersputnik."
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