Russia Plans Three Times More Proton-M Launches Next Year Than in 2020, Source Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia plans to perform three launches of the Proton-M carrier rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome next year, three times more than in 2020, a space industry source told Sputnik.

This year, only one Proton-M launch was carried out, putting telecommunications satellites Express-80 and Express-103 into orbit.

"Next year, three Proton-M launches are being planned," a space industry source told Sputnik.

A spokesperson of Russian space agency Roscosmos told Sputnik that the launch schedule for 2021 has not been confirmed yet.

According to a draft schedule obtained by Sputnik, the launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket with the new Nauka ("Science") module from the Baikonur space center is set for July 15.