The Proton-M/Breeze-M launch vehicle rolled out at Baikonur with the telecommunications satellite Express-AM4. Proton-M lifted off as planned, on August 18, 2011, but the satellite was lost for a while after the separation from the upper stage. Instead of being inserted on a geostationary transfer orbit with a 20 degree inclination, Express-AM4 ended up in a highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 51 degrees. Most likely, the Breeze-M upper stage dropped off the satellite in the wrong orbit.
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