Russia Launches Norwegian Satellite

Russia launches Norwegian satellite

MOSCOW — Russia on Monday launched a rocket carrying a Norwegian telecommunication satellite from the Baikonurspace center in Kazakhstan, Russian news agencies reported.

The Proton-M rocket blasted off from the space center in the barren steppes of northern Kazakhstan at 14:34 Moscow time (1134 GMT) and is set to send the Thor 2R satellite into a geostationaryorbit.

The 1,960-kg satellite was built for Norway’s Telenor SatelliteBroadcasting company to provide telecommunication services to European countries in its 15-year lifespan.

The launch was originally scheduled for Sunday but was put off due to technical problems, mission control officials said.

Proton-M is a three-stage, liquid-fuelled booster with a launchweight of 700 tons.