# Ekspress-A1

> failed Russian communications satellite

**Wikidata**: [Q16547845](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16547845)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekspress-A1)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/ekspress-a1

## Summary
Ekspress-A1 is a failed Russian communications satellite that was launched on 1999-10-27. The satellite was launched on a Proton-K rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200 with a Blok DM-2 upper stage, and the launch ended in failure.

## Key Facts
- Ekspress-A1 is an instance of a communications satellite (an artificial satellite designed for telecommunications).
- Launch date: 1999-10-27.
- Launch vehicle: Proton-K.
- Launch site / start point: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200.
- Space tug / upper stage used: Blok DM-2.
- Significant event: rocket launch with qualifier "failure" at Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200 on 1999-10-27.
- Official/related website: https://www.rscc.ru/space/#!type=all
- Wikidata description: failed Russian communications satellite.
- Wikipedia presence: articles titled "Ekspress-A1" available in English and Portuguese (sitelink_count: 2).
- Google Knowledge Graph ID: /g/12nvpfnlx

## FAQs
### Q: What happened to Ekspress-A1?
A: Ekspress-A1 suffered a launch failure. The rocket launch that took place on 1999-10-27 is recorded with the qualifier "failure."

### Q: When and how was Ekspress-A1 launched?
A: Ekspress-A1 was launched on 1999-10-27 from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200 aboard a Proton-K launch vehicle with a Blok DM-2 upper stage.

### Q: Was Ekspress-A1 ever operational?
A: No. Ekspress-A1 is described as a failed communications satellite, indicating it did not enter sustained operational service.

## Why It Matters
Ekspress-A1 is relevant as a documented failure within the Russian/Soviet-era communications satellite and launch history. As an intended communications satellite, its loss represents an instance where planned telecommunications capacity did not come online as intended. The vehicle and configuration used — a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok DM-2 upper stage launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200 — place this event within the operational history of those launch systems. Researchers, historians, and analysts studying launch reliability, the operational history of the Proton-K family, or the development of Russian communications satellite fleets will find Ekspress-A1 a factual data point for launch outcomes in 1999. The satellite’s public records (including Wikipedia entries and a listing on the RSCC site) provide traceable identifiers for further archival or technical investigation.

## Notable For
- Being recorded explicitly as a "failed Russian communications satellite."
- Launch on 1999-10-27 using a Proton-K carrier rocket.
- Use of a Blok DM-2 upper stage (space tug) during the attempted deployment.
- Launch origin: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200.
- Presence in public reference sources (Wikipedia entries in English and Portuguese).

## Body

### Overview
- Name: Ekspress-A1.
- Class: Communications satellite (artificial satellite designed for telecommunications).
- Wikidata description: failed Russian communications satellite.
- Public listings: Wikipedia articles in English and Portuguese; referenced in RSCC satellite listings.

### Launch details
- Launch date: 1999-10-27.
- Launch vehicle: Proton-K (Russian carrier rocket).
- Launch site / start point: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200.
- Upper stage / space tug: Blok DM-2.
- Significant event recorded: rocket launch with qualifier "failure" at Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200 on 1999-10-27.

### Operational status
- Outcome: Failure (the satellite is documented as failed and did not achieve an operational mission profile).

### Identifiers and references
- Official/related website: https://www.rscc.ru/space/#!type=all
- Google Knowledge Graph ID: /g/12nvpfnlx
- Wikipedia title: Ekspress-A1 (available in English and Portuguese).
- Sitelink count (Wikipedia languages): 2

### Classification context
- Related class: communications satellite — an artificial satellite designed for telecommunications.
- Related launch vehicle class: Proton-K — Russian (formerly Soviet) carrier rocket.

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report