Under the contract, the UAE's Yahsat satellite will be orbited by means of a Proton-M carrier rocket.
Proton-M launch services are provided by Russian-American joint venture International Launch Services (ILS), owned by the Khrunichev Center, RSC Energia, and U.S. firm Space Transport Inc. The company received $1.5 billion in new launch orders in 2007.
The contract was signed by ILS, France's Thales Alenia Space, and the UAE's Al Yah Satellite Communications Co. (Yahsat).
In August 2007, Thales Alenia Space and Astrium, an aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), signed a contract to build Yahsat, a communications system that will involve the creation of two multipurpose satellites on the basis of the Astrium Eurostar 3000 platform.
Yahsat will provide communications services to state and commercial organizations of the Middle East, Africa, European and southwestern Asia.
