Roscosmos Proton-M Rocket Launches Russian Weather Satellite at Baikonur
Russia’s Roscosmos successfully launched a heavy-lift Proton-M rocket carrying the Elektro-L No.5 weather satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, February 12, 2026. The liftoff occurred at 11:52 AM Moscow time with the spacecraft set to reach geostationary orbit roughly six-and-a-half hours later.
The three-stage Proton-M, built by the Khrunichev Center, stands 57.6 meters tall and has a launch mass of 705 tonnes. Thursday’s mission marked the 430th launch in the Proton family’s six-decade history and the latest flight of the modernized Proton-M variant introduced in 2001.
The Elektro-L No.5 spacecraft, developed by NPO Lavochkin, is part of a next-generation meteorological satellite series designed to operate over 35,000 km above the Earth. Once in position, it will beam back round-the-clock images of the Earth in visible and infrared bands with a resolution of 1 and 4 km per pixel.
Its data will aid weather forecasting, sea and ocean monitoring, aviation safety, and studies of the ionosphere and Earth’s magnetic field. The satellite also contributes to the international Cospas-Sarsat search-and-rescue system.
Elektro-L No.5 joins three active satellites of the same series already in orbit, each with a 120-degree field of view, together providing continuous full-disc coverage of the entire planet. The new spacecraft has a designed service life of at least ten years.
Duration: 2 minute, 18 seconds
Date: Feb. 12, 2026
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