MOSCOW. Oct 10 (Interfax) - The Eutelsat 5 West B telecommunications satellite and the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV)-1 have successfully separated from Russia's Briz-M upper stage and have entered their designated orbits, Roscosmos said.
Their separation from the upper stage went according to plan, it said.
The Eutelsat 5 West B separated from the Briz-M at 4:53 a.m. Moscow time and the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 did the same 19 minutes later - at 5:12 a.m. Moscow time - in accordance with the flight program.
In all, it took both satellites 15 hours and 54 minutes following their launch vehicle's takeoff to reach their orbit at an altitude of 65,007 kilometers above the Earth's surface. It became the longest launch in terms of the duration of putting the satellites into orbit.
Eutelsat 5 West B (E5WB) will be the replacement for Eutelsat 5 West A and will provide telecom services in France, Italy, and Algeria. MEV-1 is the first of its kind. It can latch on to Intelsat 901 satellites for maintenance, which will extend their service life in orbit. Both satellites were built by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.