Proton-M rocket carrier takes US satelltie to outer space.

MOSCOW, December 29 (Itar-Tass) -- The Proton-M rocket carrier with
the DirectTV-12 communications satellite was launched from the Baikonur
space launch pad in Kazakhstan early on Tuesday. The orbital bloc,
consisting of the Breeze-M rocket booster, and the DirectTV-12 satellite,
has separated from Proton-M, Alexander Bobrenev, the press secretarty of
the Khruhichev design bureau, todl itar-Tass.