A Proton K launch vehicle
was successfully launched today with three satellites for the Russian
government’s Glonass constellation. The Proton vehicle and Block DM upper
stage performed normally and the separation of the spacecraft was
successful.
This was the eighth Proton mission for the year, with four for the Russian
government and four thus far for International Launch Services. The final
Proton launch, of the Proton M version, is scheduled for Dec. 30 for ILS
with the Nimiq-2 satellite.
The Proton was developed by the Khrunichev Space Center more than 30 years
ago. Now it is one of the most reliable launch vehicles in the international
market of launch services.
