Proton-M / Briz-M

The Proton rocket with Inmarsat 5 F3 launched at 1144 GMT (7:44 a.m. EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Credit: ILS

Mission details:

• The 191-foot-tall rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1144 GMT (7:44 a.m. EDT), turned northeast and powered into space with the Inmarsat 5 F3 satellite.
  The Proton launcher’s core stages completed their rocket firings in the first 10 minutes of the flight, and changes to a third stage steering engine blamed for a May launch failure apparently functioned well.
  A Breeze M upper stage took over for five burns to raise its orbit and move closer to the equator before deploying the 6.7-ton Inmarsat 5 F3 spacecraft in orbit more than 15 hours after liftoff.
• The flight profile was programmed to release the Boeing-built Inmarsat 5 F3 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit with a low point of 2,697 miles (4,341 kilometers), a high point of 40,389 miles (65,000 kilometers) and an inclination of 26.75 degrees.
  The Inmarsat 5 F3 satellite will circularize its orbit at 22,300 miles over the next few weeks before parking over the Pacific Ocean, joining two other identical craft launched in 2013 and in February to begin worldwide service for the company’s $1.6 billion Global Xpress network.

Artist’s concept of the Inmarsat 5 F3 satellite deploying from the Proton rocket’s Breeze M upper stage. Credit: Roscosmos/TsENKI