“The satellite had been placed in orbit about 36,000 kilometers above the Earth,” said the a senior official at the centre, the Interfax agency reported.

The Proton launch took off from the Russian cosmodrome at Baikonur in Kazakhstan at 1827 GMT Saturday.

EchoStar 14, built by Space Systems/Loral for the DISH Network, will help broadcast high-definition television to 14 million viewers in north America.