Russia sends 2 satellites into space

A Russian carrier rocket brought two satellites into space successfully, federal space agency Roscosmos said Monday. The Proton-M rocket, carrying Russian satellite Luch-5V and Kazakh communication satellite KazSat-3, blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan at 8:25 a.m. Moscow time (0425 GMT), Roscosmos said on its website. At 08:34 a.m. Moscow time (0434 GMT), the orbital bloc separated from third stage of the rocket and began its autonomous flight, an official with the Khrunichev Space Center told local media. The Luch-5V is expected to separate from the booster at 17:17 Moscow time (1317 GMT) and the KazSat-3 will be taken to the target orbit at 17:57 (1357 GMT), according to Roscosmos. Luch-5V, the third Russian follow-up data relay satellite, will make the data relay system complete. KazSat-3 is designed to provide telecommunications services, broadcasting and high-speed internet access to Kazakhstan and neighboring countries.