12 Sep 2010

SIRIUS XM-5 Delivered To Baikonur

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, September 12, 2010 -- The Sirius XM-5, a U.S.-built communications satellite that will be launched for Sirius XM Radio in October, arrived at the Baikonur Launch Base onboard Antonov-124  cargo aircraft operated by Volga-Dnepr Airlines (Russia), on Sunday, 12 September.  

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11 Sep 2010

SIRIUS XM-5 Arrival of the Team

All of the teams have assembled in Baikonur. The early team arrived on Wednesday to open the facility after its first shut-down in over a year. The team from SS / Loral arrived on Friday, just in time to see the launch of a Progress mission in Area 31. Everyone is settling in and preparing for the SC Arrival on Sunday morning. 

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10 Sep 2010

Welcome to the SIRIUS XM-5 Blog

Welcome to the sixth ILS Proton launch campaign for 2010 – the launch of the Space Systems/Loral-built, SIRIUS XM-5 satellite for SIRIUS XM Radio. Follow along with the mission team as they prepare for the launch.

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10 Sep 2010

ILS London Insurance Briefing September 2010

ILS hosted a briefing to the insurance community in London on Thursday, 08 September, with an update on Proton performance and enhancements.  Approximately 40 professionals attended the  briefing at the Aon Office in London which was preceded by cocktail reception the night before.

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07 Sep 2010

Euroconsult’s World Satellite Business Week 2010

The 14th annual Euroconsult World Satellite Business Week, held September 6-9, 2010 in Paris, France welcomed several hundred attendees including some of the most influential business executives in the commercial space industry. The session, entitled, “Busy Agenda Ahead for Launch Services Providers” moderated by Warren Ferster, Editor of Space News, included top executives representing businesses that serve both the commercial and government market: International Launch Services (ILS), Arianespace, Sea Launch, Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services, China Great Wall Industry Corp. and SpaceX. Each panelist provided brief opening remarks and responded to a range of topical questions concerning industry supply and demand, new technologies and opportunities, and outlook on the future of the launch industry. The following is a summary of ILS President Frank McKenna’s participation in the panel.

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06 Sep 2010

SES and ILS Announce the Extension of the SES Multi Launch Agreement to Six Firm Missions Through 2014


Reston, VA./Luxembourg, September 6th, 2010 – International Launch Services (ILS) and SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) today announced the extension to December 31, 2014 of the SES Multi Launch Agreement (MLA) and the addition of a sixth firm ILS Proton mission through 2014. The MLA was signed in June 2007 between ILS and SES Satellite Leasing Limited, SES’s satellite procurement and leasing company in the Isle of Man.

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03 Sep 2010

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center : Update on Performance and Future Plans on Heels of the 45th Anniversary of Proton

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (KhSC), headquartered in Moscow, a Federal State Unitary Enterprise (FSUE), has been a longstanding leader in the advancement of space programs. Its varied product lines include launch vehicles and launch vehicle upper stages, communication and earth observation satellites, rocket engines and Space Station modules. Over time, KhSC has emerged as one of world’s largest space production centers, serving the international satellite telecommunication industry as well as Russian Federal and international space programs, working with 45 different companies in 22 countries across the globe.  Since Vladimir Nesterov was appointed Director General of KhSC on November 25, 2005 by Russian Federation presidential decree, there have been dramatic improvements in quality, consolidation of resources and production efficiencies with volume increasing by more than double in two and a half years.  In 2008 alone, KhSC was responsible for orbiting more than 39% of the total world space cargo.  For KhSC’s Proton vehicle,  the venerable launcher marked two notable celebrations within the past seven months—the 350th launch which took place in December 2009 and the 45th anniversary of Proton this past June.

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30 Aug 2010

SpaceNews Article: Profile Frank McKenna; Riding a Topsy-turvy Market

‘When Frank McKenna took the reins at International Launch Services (ILS) in October 2006, he anticipated launching four commercial satellites per year aboard the Russian-built Proton rocket. This year, ILS expects to launch eight times, about double the number of launches on the Proton’s Russian government manifest…’

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24 Aug 2010

Breeze M Arrives at Baikonur for SIRIUS XM-5 Launch

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, August 24, 2010 --The Breeze M upper stage (US) – which will be used as a forth stage on a Proton M space rocket to insert into orbit the Sirius XM-5 satellite – was delivered today to Baikonur Launch Base (Cosmodrome) on a Russian AN-124-100 ‘Ruslan’ transport aircraft of Polet Airlines.

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16 Aug 2010

EchoStar XIV Third and Fourth Burn Completion

We have confirmed that the Breeze M upper stage has successfully completed its 3rd & 4th 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 11:20 p.m. EST, or 03:20 GMT. Separation of the EchoStar XIV spacecraft is scheduled to follow the 5th burn completion by about 12 minutes.

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