EchoStar XIV Launched On Commercial

A commercial Proton orbited the heaviest satellite ever to fly on the Russian launch vehicle March 21, placing the 6.3-metric-ton EchoStar XIV Ku-band satellite in its geosynchronous transfer orbit for the DISH Network. The launch vehicle’s Breeze M upper stage released the spacecraft after a nine-hour, 10-minute mission. Liftoff from Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan came at 2:27 p.m. EDT. More

(Source: Aviation Week - Mar 25)