Russia to launch Proton rocket with telecoms satellite on May 16

MOSCOW, May 8 (RIA Novosti) - The launch of a Proton-M rocket carrying the ProtoStar-2 telecoms satellite from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has been scheduled for May 16, Russia's space agency Roscosmos said on Friday.

The launch will be carried out by International Launch Services Inc. ILS's controlling stake is owned by Russia's Khrunichev center, which develops and produces Proton and Angara carrier rockets.

ProtoStar Ltd is a private company incorporated in Bermuda, with U.S. operations based in San Francisco, California and Asian operations based in Singapore.

ProtoStar intends to operate an initial fleet of three geostationary satellites to provide direct broadcast services for Indonesia, India, Philippines and Taiwan.

Two satellites have been acquired, and the first satellite, the ProtoStar-1, was launched aboard an Ariane 5 carrier rocket in July last year.

The primary control system for ProtoStar-2 was installed in Indonesia and will be operated by Indovision, a local subscription-based direct broadcast satellite service.