Russian Proton-M Rocket to Deploy Blagovest Military Satellite on December 25

Russian defense ministry plans to deploy a military communications satellite from the Baikonur space center with the launch of Proton-M heavy carrier rocket on December 25 this year.

"We have scheduled the next launch of a Proton carrier rocket for December 25 from the Baikonur space center. This is will be the Blagovest [satellite]. We have scheduled the dispatch of the carrier rocket to the Baikonur spaceport for October 30," CEO of the Khrunichev Space Center Alexei Varochko was quoted as saying by TASS on Tuesday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry plans to deploy a grouping of four Blagovest satellites by 2020. The third and the fourth space vehicles will be ready for their delivery into orbit in 2018, the agency reported.

The communications satellites are designed to provide high-speed access to the Internet, broadcast television and radio programs and offer telephone and video conference communications with the use of the promising Ka-and Ku-band frequencies.