Russia launches US satellite

Moscow, Aug 19 (IANS) Russia launched a 5,600-kg US communications satellite Sunday from a seaborne launch platform in the Pacific Ocean, Xinhua reported.

According to Russian federal space agency Roscosmos, the Russian Zenit-3SL rocket carrying a US communications satellite - Intelsat-21 - was launched Sunday from the Odyssey floating platform.

Intelsat-21 is designed to operate for 15 years. Founded in 1995, the Sea Launch consortium is made up by four companies from Norway, Russia, Ukraine and the US. The Russian company holds 95 percent of the shares.

The launch was initially scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to technical problems.