"The launch was carried out at 2151 GMT from Baikonur. The separation of the European satellite from the Briz-M booster is expected in nine hours and 12 minutes," a spokesman for Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
The Ka-Sat was made for Eutelsat, a leading provider of satellite telecommunications services in Europe.
The six-tonne satellite is of the new generation operating in Ka-band frequencies. It will provide service to customers across Europe and the Mediterranean.
This was the first launch of Proton-M after a previous rocket veered off course shortly after launch and sunk in the Pacific Ocean Dec 5, losing three Glonass-M satellites.
Published 27 December 2010, 02:04 IST