BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, May 6, 2002 — International Launch Services has announced the scrub of today's launch of a Proton rocket with the Loral-built DIRECTV 5 satellite.

The delay was called in the last few minutes before the scheduled liftoff, at 11 p.m. at Baikonur, 1 p.m. EDT or 1700 GMT. Engineers at Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center noticed an anomalous reading in telemetry from the launch vehicle, and stopped the launch in order to examine the data. Early reports mistakenly attributed the delay to the satellite. The spacecraft remains ready for launch. A decision is expected later as to whether there will be another launch attempt Tuesday.