Russian Proton booster orbits US satellite.

MOSCOW, April 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Proton-M booster, launched on
Saturday from the Baikonur space ground in Kazakhstan, has orbited a U.S.
telecommunications satellite, SES-1, a spokesman for Russia's space forces
said on Sunday.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin, the satellite
separated from the Breeze-M upper stage at 00:17 Moscow time.
SES-1, manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation under a contract
with SES WORLD SKIES of the United States (formerly known as SES
Americom), will provide coverage of the US and the Caribbean and is
intended to replace SES's existing AMC-2 and AMC-4 satellite at the
orbital location of 101 degrees West. The 2.6-ton SES-1 satellite is a
hybrid C- and Ku-band spacecraft with a life span of 15 years.
The Proton-M booster with the Breeze-M upper stage was manufactured by
the Khrunichev Space Research and Production Center. Commercial launches
are marketed by International Launch Services (ILS) controlled by the
Khrunichev Center.
"This was the fifth Proton-M launch in 2010 and 356th in its flight
history," a spokesman for the Khrunichev Center said. "It was the 3rd ILS
launch in 2010 and 59th since the beginning of Proton commercial use in
April 1996."
-0-ras