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RUSSIAN SPACE FORCES CONFIRM ORBITING U.S. SATELLITE

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 3 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. communications satellite AMC-12 has been lofted to the planned orbit, a Space Forces spokesman told RIA Novosti.

The Space Forces confirmed the successful insertion of the AMC-12 at 16.10 Moscow time, almost an hour and a half after the calculated time for the satellite to separate from its booster. The long delay might have been due to the refining of the orbit's characteristics based on the telemetry fed by the satellite.

Vladimir Bronkhman, Khrunichev Center director of the AMC-12 launch program, confirmed earlier that the U.S. customer had established and maintained stable communications with the satellite.