With two days to blast-off, the Proton Breeze-M launch vehicle stands ready to carry the Inmarsat-5 F1 satellite into orbit.
The huge launch vehicle, with the upper stage loaded with nearly 20 metric tonnes of propellants, was transported to Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a special railway car.
Full propellant loading up to 652 metric tonnes will be conducted in the run-up to the launch on 8 December.
In a careful operation, the 58.2-metre (191ft) high rocket – which has the satellite safely encapsulated in its payload fairing – was raised from the horizontal into the firing position.
The launch pad’s mobile service tower was then positioned alongside the rocket, and the fuel, umbilical power and communication lines connected up and tested.
A launch countdown rehearsal is now taking place in preparation for lift-off.
The launch, scheduled for 12:12 UTC on 8 December, can be watched on a live webcast on the Inmarsat.com website.
