BAIKONUR. May 23 (Interfax-AVN) - A Proton-M rocket is being assembled at the Baikonur assembly and test workshop for carrying Russia's Luch-5A and Israeli Amos-5 satellites to orbit.
"Rocket elements are being unloaded from the train, and preparations for attaching side boosters to the first stage center are underway. Once the rocket is assembled, it will be put to storage," a spaceport representative told Interfax on Monday.
The launch assisted with a Briz-M booster is due in the first half of fall 2011.
Luch-5A is a product of the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems based on the Express 1000N platform.
The geostationary re-transmitter satellite will become a part of the Luch multirole space re-transmission system, which will have three satellites in all. The satellites will interact with low-orbit space vehicles (flying at less than 2,000 kilometers above Earth), primarily the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS).
Luch satellites will receive data from other satellites outside of the Russian visibility zone and transmit it to Russian ground stations. They will also be able to transmit orders to space vehicles outside the Russian visibility zone.
Amos-5 is also a Reshetnev product built on the Express 1000N platform to order of Israeli-based Space Communication Ltd. It carries 18 C transponders and 16 Ku transponders and weighs about 1,500 tons. The satellite's useful life is planned at no less than 15 years.