The launch occurred at 02:59:00 UTC on 6 June 2000 from Site 81/24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

[1] The Proton itself flew with uprated engines, increasing its payload capacity ahead of the launch of Zvezda, a little over a month later, on 12 July 2000.

The launch was conducted as a test flight of the Proton, and the satellite would not have been considered a significant loss if it had not reached orbit.

Following its launch and on-orbit testing, it was placed in geosynchronous orbit at 145° East,[2] from where it provides communications services to Russia.

[4][5] Its stabilisation system failed in March 2008, leaving the satellite drifting at a rate of 0.3° West per day, eight years after it had been launched.