Satellite Launch: Russia’s Proton Rocket Puts New Weather Satellite Into Orbit

KEY POINTS

The satellite called Electro-L 3 is a geostationary satellite.
It was launched through Russia's legendary Proton Rocket.
It can image and monitor wide expanse of the Earth’s surface.

A new satellite meant for studying Earth’s weather from space was successfully launched on Christmas Eve by Russia's space agency Roscosmos with the help of their legendary Proton Rocket.

The satellite, called Electro-L 3, was launched into the orbit at 7:03 a.m. EST Tuesday (12:03 p.m. UTC) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, a spaceport located in southern Kazakhstan which was leased to Russia.

The Electro-L 3 satellite is the third weather observatory satellite in the series serving Russia's Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (known as Rosgidromet). The first Electro-L satellite was launched in 2011, and the second followed suit in 2015.

Electro-L 3 is a geostationary satellite and from its position over the Pacific Ocean at a longitude of 165.8 degrees East, it can image and monitor wide expanse of the Earth’s surface, including Russia’s far eastern regions, Oceania, as well as parts of Asia.

Weighing about 2,094 kilograms (4,616 lb), Electro-L 3 is heavier than its two predecessors.

Earlier in 2018, Roscosmos has decided to stop the production of Proton rockets amid the introduction of the new Angara launch vehicle. The Proton family had so far earned respect for successfully handling both government and commercial missions for over half a century ever since its inception in the 1960s. However, they are still in use as of 2019.

The fresh launch marked the nation’s final proton rocket launch of the year. Earlier, five proton rockets were launched — four for the Russian government and one for International Launch Services (ILS) dealing with commercial missions, according to Spacenews.