08 Oct 2013

SIRIUS FM-6 | Fiesta Time!

With the SC mated to the Breeze-M and horizontal in Hall 101 a few of the SSL folks are now heading out tomorrow, no better reason for a BBQ!  Tonight’s fiesta is Mexican themed.  Tacos and Quesadillas are on the menu.  Hmm…what to drink?  Also, thanks to Pavel and Leonid of Khrunichev who were able to arrange a tour of Hall 111 for the departing SSL team members.  Seeing the Proton up close is definitely an impressive sight.

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06 Oct 2013

SIRIUS FM-6 | Drawing a Crowd

Tonight was the exciting end (of round 1) to the horseshoe tournament.  Thanks to all who participated include RUAG, Pinkerton, Sirius, SSL, Khrunichev and ILS.  And the winner is… the Baikonur hospital!  All money raised, including donations of children’s toys, clothing, office supplies and more, all brought to Baikonur by the SSL folks is to benefit the hospital.  A trip is planned for next week to deliver the items and tour the hospital.  Giving back feels great!

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04 Oct 2013

SIRIUS FM-6 | Horseshoes and BBQ’s!

Tonight kicked off the horseshoe tournament benefiting the local hospital. Teams from Sirius, SSL, ILS and Khrunichev took turns heaving the shoe trying to outdo each other.  Playing for fun and a great cause, some took it more seriously than others! And even those watching enjoyed the spectacle, not to mention the food and drink!  I’ll be sure to write with the final results after round two later this week.

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30 Sep 2013

ASTRA 2E Mission Success!

We have had a successful mission with the Proton M Breeze M rocket, carrying the ASTRA 2E satellite built by Astrium for SES. We have had confirmation that the satellite separated from the vehicle on schedule at 2:50 AM Eastern Time, or 06:50 GMT, 9 hours and 12 minutes after liftoff.
Everything occurred as planned with ignition, shutdown and separation of the Proton’s first three stages. Then the Breeze M upper stage with the satellite continued the mission, igniting five times, and then releasing the satellite into transfer orbit.

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30 Sep 2013

ASTRA 2E 3rd and 4th Burn Completion

We have confirmed that the Breeze M upper stage has successfully completed its third and fourth burns, as well as jettisoning its additional propellant tank. The vehicle is now in a 5-hour coast period, during which we will have nothing to report. The 5th burn is scheduled to start around 2:31  Eastern time, or 06:31 GMT, and last for approximately 6 minutes. Separation of the ASTRA 2E spacecraft is scheduled to follow the 5th burn completion by about  that by about 13 minutes.

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29 Sep 2013

ASTRA 2E Stage Separations

We had a successful liftoff about 11 minutes ago of our Proton M Breeze M rocket, which is carrying the ASTRA2E satellite. The three stages of the Proton vehicle have performed as planned, and it is up to the Breeze M upper stage to complete the mission. The upper stage has begun its first burn, which is scheduled to last around 4 minutes.

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29 Sep 2013

ASTRA 2E First Burn

We have received confirmation of completion of the first burn. The vehicle is now scheduled to be out of range for about an hour, after which we will hear confirmation of the second burn.

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29 Sep 2013

ASTRA 2E Breeze M MECO 2

As the Breeze M upper stage of our Proton M rocket continues its climb into space with the ASTRA 2E satellite, we have received confirmation that the 2nd burn of the upper stage occurred and shut down as scheduled.
The next events are scheduled for about  2 hours from now. The Breeze M upper stage will ignite for a 3rd time and burn for about 11 minutes; after that the additional propellant tank will be jettisoned, and the 4th burn will start. All this will happen in a span of about 15 minutes while the vehicle is again out of range of a ground station. We should reacquire the vehicle shortly after the 4th burn ends.

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For the latest news and information, or if you have a question, please email ILS at contactus@ilslaunch.com