New Sirius XM Radio Satellite Launches to Orbit

A Russian Proton rocket launches the new Sirius FM5 XM radio satellite into orbit on June 30, 2009 from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Image credit: ILS.)

Anew broadcasting satellite for Sirius XM Radio launched today aboard a Protonrocket, beginning a 9-hour journey to a high-altitude transfer orbit stretchingmore than 22,000 miles above Earth.

The Sirius FM5 satellite,the company's fourth spacecraft, blasted off at 1910 GMT (3:10 p.m. EDT) fromthe Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The 12,831-pound satelliterode off the launch pad on nearly 2.5 million pounds of thrust produced by theProton's six first stage engines. The rocket shed its first stage two minuteslater, giving way to the launcher's second stage for a burn lasting aboutthree-and-a-half minutes.

The single-engine thirdstage took over for its firing and the Proton jettisoned its payload shroudduring the sixth minute of flight. The third stage separated from the Breeze Mupper stage about ten minutes after liftoff, ending the Proton's role in themission.

The Breeze M's final burnwill place the spacecraft in an orbit with a high point of 22,236 miles, a lowpoint of 2,614 miles, and an inclination of 22.9 degrees, according topre-launch projections.

The next ILSProton launch is scheduled for early August with the AsiaSat 5communications satellite. That mission will be followed by the launch ofCanada's Nimiq 5 spacecraft in early fall, officials said.

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Stephen Clark is the Editor of Spaceflight Now, a web-based publication dedicated to covering rocket launches, human spaceflight and exploration. He joined the Spaceflight Now team in 2009 and previously wrote as a senior reporter with the Daily Texan. You can follow Stephen's latest project at SpaceflightNow.com and on Twitter.