Russia will launch a US communications satellite from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan this year, the government said in a statement on Monday.

The Intelsat DLA-2 satellite, also known as Intelsat 31, will be put into orbit by Russia's Proton Breeze M launch vehicle.

The 6 metric ton probe will provide in-orbit protection services for the DIRECTV Latin America Direct-to-Home (DTH) television platform, a leading DTH digital television services operator in Latin America.

This will be the 11th ILS Proton launch for Intelsat and the 5th mission to support DIRECTV.

The launch will consolidate Russia's position on the global space services market and promote international cooperation in space exploration, the government statement said.

Source: Sputnik News