A Proton-M heavy carrier rocket will blast off with the second Blagovest military communications satellite from the Baikonur space center on December 25, acting CEO of the Khrunichev Space Center Alexei Varochko told TASS on Tuesday.

"We have scheduled the next launch of a Proton carrier rocket for December 25 from the Baikonur space center. This is will be the Blagovest [satellite]. We have scheduled the dispatch of the carrier rocket to the Baikonur spaceport for October 30," he said.

The first Blagovest communications satellite produced by the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company was launched aboard a Proton carrier rocket from the Baikonur spaceport on August 17. Russia’s Space Forces assigned the index number Kosmos-2520 to the satellite.

Russia’s Defense Ministry plans to deploy a grouping of four Blagovest satellites by 2020. The third and the fourth space vehicles will be ready for their delivery into orbit in 2018.