MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti) - A wayward Russian telecoms satellite that has reached the designated orbit using its own engines has successfully passed the In Orbit Acceptance Review and is ready to become operational, the satellite’s manufacturer said on Wednesday.
“Yamal-402 is now positioned at its final location… and nominally ready for operation,” Thales Alenia Space said in a statement on its website.
The Yamal-402 satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space for the Gazprom Space Systems (GSS) company, the telecommunications arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom, to provide communication links over most of Russia, the CIS, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The satellite, equipped with 46 Ku-band transponders, was launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on December 8 but separated from its upper stage four minutes early due to an apparent glitch in the Briz-M booster.
Thales has carried out a four-step recovery operation, which required the use of the satellite’s own engines and fuel reserves.
Yamal reached its designated geostationary orbit on December 15.
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