Mission type Communications Rocket Proton-M/Briz-M Reference system Geocentric Period 24 hours Manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space Bus Eurostar E3000 | Operator RSCC Contractor Khrunichev Launch date 15 May 2014 Launch mass 5,775 kg Launch site Baikonur Cosmodrome | |
Mission duration 15 years (planned)
Failed to orbit Similar Ekspress, Ekspress AM4, Ekspress AT2, Ekspress AM6, Ekspress AT1 | ||
Ekspress AM4R (Russian: Экспресс-АМ4Р meaning Express AM4R) was a Russian communications satellite intended for operation by the State Company for Satellite Communications. Constructed as a replacement for Ekspress AM4, which was left unusable after the upper stage of the rocket carrying it malfunctioned, Ekspress AM4R was also lost due to a launch failure.
Astrium, which had become part of Airbus Defence and Space by the time of the satellite's launch, constructed Ekspress AM4R, which was based on the Eurostar 3000 satellite bus. It was identical in design to Ekspress AM4, with a mass of 5,775 kilograms (12,732 lb) and a planned operational lifespan of fifteen years. The satellite carried sixty-three transponders: thirty operating in the C band of the electromagnetic spectrum, twenty eight in the Ku band, two in the Ka band and three in the L band. It was to have been the largest and most powerful satellite in the Ekspress constellation.
Khrunichev was contracted to launch Ekspress AM4R, using a Proton-M/Briz-M rocket - the same configuration that had failed to deploy Ekspress AM4. The launch took place from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, at 21:42 UTC on 15 May 2014. Shortly after launch the rocket was reported to have encountered a problem during third stage flight, and as a result the satellite failed to reach orbit.