MOSCOW, December 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia...

"The launch was carried out without incidents, the spacecraft is expected to be orbited at 12:32 Moscow time [09:32 GMT]," a Roscosmos spokesman said.

The DirecTV satellite operator had a contract with Russian-U.S. joint venture International Launch Services (ILS) to launch the DirecTV-12 on board a Proton-M carrier rocket to expand its existing satellite grouping.

The Boeing-made DirecTV-12 satellite, weighing around 6 metric tons, will become part of DirecTV satellite grouping and provide high-definition TV, Internet and communications services to subscribers in the United States.

All Proton rockets are made by Russia"s Khrunichev Space and Research Center.