A Russian booster rocket successfully launched a Swedish communications satellite into orbit, officials, quoted by an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report said the Proton Breeze M booster lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, placing the SIRIUS 4 satellite into a designated orbit, according to Russia's state-controlled Khrunichev company, which built the booster.
The satellite will provide broadcasting services across Europe and parts of Africa for SES SIRIUS, a Swedish telecommunications company, the report said.
The launch was carried out by International Launch Services, a US-Russian joint venture that provides for sales and mission management of commercial satellite launches on Russia's heavy Proton boosters, the report further said.