One of the most powerful satellites ever built has been put in orbit by a Russian Proton rocket. The Viasat-1 spacecraft will deliver broadband services to customers in the US and Canada. With a total data throughput of some 140 Gbps, the satellite has more capacity than all other commercial communications satellites over North America combined. Viasat-1 left Earth from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The lift-off for its carrier Proton rocket occurred at 00:48 local time (18:48 GMT Wednesday). The flight was declared a success just over nine hours later. Viasat-1 will be moved to a geosynchronous position at 115 degrees West, and should become fully operational in 2012 after a period of testing
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