[SatNews] Both the Yamal-300K and Luch 5B satellites launched on November 3rd have successfully...

...reached orbit, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has confirmed. “The separation of the Yamal-300K from the Briz-M booster went smoothly, and to schedule,” a Roscosmos spokesman told RIA Novosti, adding that the same was true of the Luch 5B relay satellite, and confirming that both had entered orbit. The Russian Proton-M launch vehicle carrying Yamal-300K telecoms satellite and Luch 5B relay satellite lifted off last Saturday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. The satellites were built by Russia’s Reshetnev space company.

The Yamal-300K will expand the cluster of Yamal class telecoms satellites operated by Gazprom Space Systems (GSS), a telecommunications arm of Russia’s energy giant Gazprom. The satellite is fitted with a combined payload including eight active 72MHz transponders in C-band and 18 active 72MHz transponders in Ku-band. Yamal-300K service zone covers 95 percent of the Russian territory.

The dual-purpose geostationary Luch 5B satellite has been primarily designed to relay live telemetry and other data from low-orbiting space vehicles as they fly beyond the communication range of ground control stations. The satellite is also capable of tracking low-flying space objects along their trajectories thanks to its two high-precision antennas operating in Ku- and S-band.