The Proton-M, (Протон-М) GRAU index 8K82M or 8K82KM, is an expendable Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet-developed Proton.

The Proton-M launch vehicle consists of three stages; all of them powered by liquid rocket engines using the hypergolic propellant combination of dinitrogen tetroxide as the oxidizer, and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine for fuel.

The Proton-M features modifications to the lower stages to reduce structural mass, increase thrust, and utilise more propellant.

This increases the rocket's performance slightly compared to previous variants, and reduces the amount of toxic chemicals remaining in the stage when it impacts downrange.

[16] The variants were designed to reduce the cost for launching medium and small commercial communications satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).

The 3000–5000 kg payload range includes all-electric and hybrid satellites that use ion thrusters to slowly make their way into geostationary orbit (GEO).

In September 2007, a Proton-M/Briz-M rocket carrying Japan's JCSAT-11 communications satellite failed to achieve orbit, and fell in the Ulytau District of Kazakhstan.

Attempts by the onboard guidance computer to correct the flight trajectory failed and ended up putting it into an unrecoverable pitchover.

The preliminary report of the investigation into the July 2013 failure indicated that three of the first stage angular velocity sensors, responsible for yaw control, were installed in an incorrect orientation.

[21] Telemetry data also indicated that a pad umbilical had detached prematurely, suggesting that the Proton may have launched several tenths of a second early, before the engines reached full thrust.

Unlike the 2013 crash, this occurred more than nine minutes into the flight when one of the third stage verniers shut off, causing loss of attitude control.

An automatic shutdown and destruct command was issued and the remains of the upper stages and payload impacted in northern China.

An investigation committee concluded that the failure was most likely due to one of the turbopumps breaking off its mount, rupturing a propellant line and causing the vernier to lose thrust.

Pending an investigation, the rocket was grounded for the rest of 2016 and first half of 2017: Proton-M at that time planned to return to the launch pad around June 2017 to deliver the EchoStar-21 satellite to orbit.

On 28 January 2017, the Russian government announced, as a result of the investigation into the failure of Progress MS-04, the recall of all Proton-M 2nd and 3rd stage engines produced by the Voronezh Mechanical Plant, including the disassembly of three completed Proton rockets and a three and a half month suspension of flights.

[25] The investigation found that cheaper alternatives, unable to resist high temperatures, had been used in place of engine parts containing valuable minerals, and that production and certification documentation had been falsified.

All of the payloads were unusable except for Yamal-402, which was able to correct its orbit at the expense of several years' operational life, and AMC-14 which was sold to the US Government after SES determined that it couldn't complete its original mission.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said "the failure-prone space sector is so troubled that it needs state supervision to overcome its problems".