MOSCOW, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia launched Wednesday a Proton-Mcarrier rocket to send an Astra 1M satellite into orbit, news agencies reported.

    The carrier was launched at 11:44 p.m. Moscow time (2044 GMT) from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Alexander Bobrenev, press secretary of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

    According to the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos), the satellite will separate from the upper stage about 9 hours after the launch, and then reach its orbital position at 19.2 degrees East longitude.

    The Luxemburg-based SES is a global provider of satellite telecommunications services that operates mainly through SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in North America and SES NEW SKIES in Africa, South America, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.

    The new satellite will expand the SES satellite group, which currently consists of 36 satellites. The ASTRA satellite fleet delivers high quality broadcasting to over 117 million European households.