A
Proton rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan Friday, beginning a more than
nine-hour mission to deposit a versatile European communications satellite into
a high-altitude geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The 191-foot-tall rocket
left the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 1624 GMT (12:24 p.m. EDT), turning northeast
from the launch pad and tearing through the night sky on the power of six first
stage RD-276 engines.
Eutelsat's W2A spacecraft
is bolted atop the rocket, beginning
a mission to deliver a variety of communications services to Europe,
Africa, the Middle East, and parts of South America and India.
The Proton dropped
the first stage about two minutes after liftoff, giving way to the booster's
second stage for a burn lasting about three-and-a-half minutes.
The third stage ignited and
jettisoned the second stage five-and-a-half minutes into the mission. The
Proton next released the payload fairing, which protected the W2A satellite
during the first few minutes of the flight.
After emptying its fuel
tanks, the third stage main engine shut down and separated from the Breeze M
upper stage nine-and-a-half minutes after launch.
The Breeze M stage, fueled
by an explosive mix of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, took over
the launch and ignited for its first burn 11 minutes and 39 seconds after
liftoff.
The burn injected the stage
and the 13,000-pound W2A spacecraft into a temporary low-altitude parking
orbit, according to International Launch Services, the U.S.-based firm that
markets the Proton rocket to commercial customers.
The Breeze M will fire four
more times to gradually raise its altitude and reduce its orbital inclination.
Plans call for the rocket
to reach an orbit with a high point of 22,118 miles and a low point of 3,113
miles. The targeted inclination is 20.7 degrees, according to ILS.
Spacecraft separation is
scheduled at 0134 GMT Saturday (9:34 p.m. EDT Friday), ending the launch phase
of W2A's anticipated 15-year mission.
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