Russian rocket launches US satellite

A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying the US telecommunications satellite DirecTV-10 took off early on July 7 from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russia's Khrunichev space centre announced. The rocket was launched at 7:16 am (0116 GMT) and the satellite was to be placed in geo-stationary orbit nine hours and eight minutes later, a spokesman said.
DirecTV-10, built by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, is to retransmit high-definition and local television throughout the United States and has an operational life of 15 years.