ILS Proton Succesfully Launches LightSquared Satellite; 7th ILS Proton mission of 2010; 27th Successful Proton Launch in 28 months

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, November 14, 2010 – International Launch Services (ILS), a world leader in providing mission and launch services to the commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the SkyTerra 1 satellite into orbit today on an ILS Proton for LightSquared of Reston, Virginia. This was the 7th commercial mission of the year for ILS and the 10th successful Proton launch of 2010.  The ILS Proton launch of SkyTerra 1 was the first satellite launch for LightSquared.

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SkyTerra 1 Stage Separations

We had a successful liftoff about 11 minutes ago of our Proton M Breeze M rocket, which is carrying the SkyTerra 1 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 7 minutes.

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SkyTerra 1 First Burn Completion

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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SkyTerra 1 Third and Fourth Burn Completion

We have confirmed that the Breeze M upper stage has successfully completed its 3rd and 4th burn, 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 9:22 p.m. EST, or 02:22 GMT. Separation of the SkyTerra 1 spacecraft is scheduled to follow the 5th burn completion by about 14 minutes.

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SkyTerra 1 Mission Successful!

We have had a successful mission with the Proton M Breeze M rocket, carrying the SkyTerra 1 satellite built by Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. We have had confirmation that the satellite separated from the vehicle on schedule at 9:43 p.m. EST, or 02:43 UTC, 9 hours and 14 minutes after liftoff.

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SkyTerra 1 Second Burn Completion

As the Breeze M upper stage of our Proton M rocket continues its climb into space with the SkyTerra 1 satellite, we have received confirmation that the 2nd burn of the upper stage occurred and shut down as scheduled.

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And What’s a Schedule…Without Some Planned Breaks.

And it may be Baikonur, but the Polyot kitchen and dining hall were filled with the aromas of Italy…if only for one night. We took over the kitchen for a night and treated the team to Italian Night at the Cosmodrome. And while it was only frozen pizzas, it was all homemade spaghetti and meatballs, with a little East Coast and West Coast flare. Add some garlic bread and a tossed salad and you might have thought you were in Tuscany. Fortunately, there were no volunteers to sing “Areviderci Roma”.

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