A Russian carrier rocket delivered Kazakhstan's first communications satellite into orbit Sunday, a Roskosmos spokesman said. The Proton-K carrier rocket with Kazakhstan's KazSat satellite took off the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan at 2:44 a.m. Moscow Time.
The satellite separated from the rocket's acceleration unit strictly on schedule, at 9:32 a.m. Moscow Time, the spokesman said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev watched the satellite's launch.
KazSat has an active service life of 12.5 years and was built by Russia's Khrunichev space center under a 2004 contract with the government of Kazakhstan.
KazSat is designed to provide communications for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and a part of Russia.
Roskosmos said the satellite's launch was a big success of the country's rocket and space industry.
"Roskosmos considers this as a big success of Russia's rocket and space industry and hopes for the space vehicle's further successful work," said Igor Panarin, a spokesman for the agency.
According to Panarin, the satellite was sent into its designated on time. Stable communications are being maintained with the satellite and all its parameters correspond to the norm, he said.
