On December 27, 2014 at 21:37 UTC (on December 28 at 00:37 Moscow time) the Russian "Proton-M” rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The rocket equipped with the "Briz-M” booster orbited the “Astra-2G” broadcast satellite. The “Astra-2G” is a 6.6-ton spacecraft designed to beam television broadcasts and broadband services across the United Kingdom and Ireland, continental Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The spacecraft is based on the Eurostar E3000 satellite platform manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space. This flight marked the 401st launch of a Proton rocket since it debuted in 1965.