Russia launches US satellite

A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying a US satellite blasted off Friday night from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos said. Live TV broadcast showed that the carrier rocket, with a Sirius FM-6 satellite onboard, was launched from the cosmodrome at 10:08 p.m. Moscow time (1808 GMT). The separation of the satellite from the Briz-M upper stage is slated for 7:19 a.m. Moscow time on Saturday (0319 GMT). Built by the Space Systems/Loral company, the Sirius FM-6 is a radio broadcasting satellite that operates radio channels in parts of the United States and Canada. The takeoff, initially scheduled for Oct. 20, was postponed twice at the request of the United States, which reported problems of its ground signal receiver. This was the sixth Proton launch this year and the 83rd since the beginning of its commercial use in April 1996.