MOSCOW, May 8 (RIA Novosti) - The launch of a
Proton-M rocket carrying the ProtoStar-2 telecoms satellite
from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has been scheduled
for May 16, Russia's space agency Roscosmos said on Friday.
The launch will be carried out by International Launch
Services Inc. ILS's controlling stake is owned by Russia's
Khrunichev center, which develops and produces Proton and
Angara carrier rockets.
ProtoStar Ltd is a private company incorporated in
Bermuda, with U.S. operations based in San Francisco,
California and Asian operations based in Singapore.
ProtoStar intends to operate an initial fleet of three
geostationary satellites to provide direct broadcast services
for Indonesia, India, Philippines and Taiwan.
Two satellites have been acquired, and the first
satellite, the ProtoStar-1, was launched aboard an Ariane 5
carrier rocket in July last year.
The primary control system for ProtoStar-2 was installed
in Indonesia and will be operated by Indovision, a local
subscription-based direct broadcast satellite service.
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