International Launch Services (ILS) Hosts 2009 Users’ Conference on October 12-14 in Reston, VA, USA
Updates to the Proton Launch System Mission Planners Guide Presented

Over 75 attendees from all over the globe, representing satellite operators, manufacturers and the insurance community gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia, USA, from October 12-14 for the 2009 ILS Users' Conference. The focus of the event was to provide recent updates to the Proton Launch System Mission Planners Guide, a comprehensive resource guide on Proton launch capability, mission analysis and custom engineering support, documentation availability and requirements, and program planning. Also at the ILS Users’ Conference, specific details were presented on the new ILS Duo capability, recently previewed at the APSCC Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month.

ILS presenters included representatives from ILS Mission Management, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (KhSC) and KhSC subcontractor, RUAG. Co-hosting the program from ILS were Jim Bonner, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, and Wendy Mihalic, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Communications. ILS President, Frank McKenna kicked off the conference with a message on ILS/Proton accomplishments to date and made final closing remarks to guests.

The two-day conference was preceded by a welcome reception at the new ILS headquarters, just a short walk from the conference site at Hyatt Reston in the Reston Town Center district. Also included in the conference program was a private tour and dinner at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport. Regional Users’ Conferences are currently being planned for Europe and Asia; additional details will be forthcoming.