Ekspress AM7
Ekspress AM7 is a Russian communications satellite operated by the State Company for Satellite Communications.
Astrium, which had become part of Airbus Defence and Space by the time of the satellite's launch, constructed Ekspress AM7, which was based on the Eurostar 3000 satellite bus. The satellite has a mass of and a planned operational lifespan of 15 years. The satellite carried 62 transponders: 24 operating in the C band of the electromagnetic spectrum, 36 in the Ku band and 2 in the L band.
Khrunichev was contracted to launch Ekspress AM7, using a Proton-M/Briz-M rocket - the same configuration that had failed to deploy the similar Ekspress AM4 and Ekspress AM4R. The launch took place from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, at 22:05 UTC on 18 March 2015. The satellite was deployed into the planned geostationary transfer orbit.
