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Zenit-2SB rocket with U.S. satellite blasts off from Baikonur

06 October 2011 01:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A Russian-Ukrainian Zenit-2SB carrier rocket with the U.S. Intelsat 18 telecommunications satellite blasted off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan early on Thursday, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

"The launch took place as scheduled. The separation of the spacecraft is scheduled for 7:34 Moscow time," a spokesman for Russiaâ€™s space agency Roskosmos said.

The was initially scheduled for 1:00 on Wednesday Moscow time (21:00 GMT on Tuesday), but Intelsat asked that it be moved to a reserve date, to October 6 at 1:00 Moscow time.

The Intelsat-18 satellite is equipped with 32 transponders and will provide telecommunications services to customers in East Asia, U.S. West Coast and the Pacific Region.

Intelsat Ltd. operates the worldâ€™s most extensive satellite network, comprising over 50 satellites.

The Zenit-2, a medium-lift two-stage rocket, is produced by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnepropetrovsk. Its DM-SLB upper stage is made by Russian space corporation Energia.