Russia to launch two telecoms satellites in February 2009

MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will launch two telecoms satellites on February 11, the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) said on Wednesday.

The Express-AM44 and Express-MD1 spacecraft have been built under the Russian Federal Space Program for 2006-2015, and will be launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan by a Proton-M carrier rocket with increased lifting power.

"The Express-AM44 and the Express-MD1 satellites will be launched jointly on February 11, 2009 and put into their respective orbits," the state-run company said in a statement.

The Express-AM44 will replace the Express-A3 satellite, which has reached the end of its service life, and the Express-MD1 will augment Russia's satellite network capacity in a key orbital position, the statement said.

Russia launched the first Express-series satellite, the Express-2, in October 1994 to boost the capacity of the country's satellite communications networks.