Russia's Proton‑M will make its first launch in nearly three years from Baikonur, carrying the fifth Elektro‑L weather satellite (Elektro‑L No.5). The flight is notable as the final mission to use the Blok‑DM upper stage and marks Proton's return to operations.
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Proton's first flight in nearly three years restores a key Russian heavy‑lift capability and will place Elektro‑L No.5 — the fifth in its geostationary weather series — into orbit.
The mission is the final flight of the Blok‑DM upper stage on Proton, ending a long‑running upper‑stage variant and closing a chapter in Proton mission architecture.
The return of Proton comes alongside a broader uptick in global launch activity, including Rocket Lab's push for rapid Electron cadence [source:c8a07041-d9b4-4ca7-98ce-ef9c7dd15d72] and sustained small‑launcher operations [source:e278da3d-0fd6-4f80-a738-aaf5d2c08d0].
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(PL) Russia resumes Proton-M rocket flights • space24.pl
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Proton launches fifth Elektro-L weather satellite • russianspaceweb.com