Satellite : Russian rocket sends Canadian satellite into space Nimiq 4 (malfunction)

[rajuB4U]

MOSCOW, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russia launched a Proton-M space vehicle early Saturday to send a Canadian communication satellite into orbit, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.
The carrier was launched at 01:48 Moscow time (2148 GMT) from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, said Alexander Bobrenev, Press Secretary of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.
The rocket was scheduled to orbit the Canadian satellite on Friday, but was postponed over a malfunction of the launch control system. The satellite Nimiq-4 weighs 4,850 kg and is expected to work for 15 years. It is developed by the European company EADS Astriumfor Telesat Canada, a satellite communication operator which provides data transmission and tele and radio broadcasting services for North America. The Proton-M launch vehicle and the Briz-M booster are made by the Khrunichev center. The rocket has three stages and the launch weight is about 700 tons.