Yesterday the Proton M launch vehicle was transported from our processing facility to Launch Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It began its trip to the pad at exactly 6:30 a.m., which is a Russian tradition because it corresponds to the time the vehicle for Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, rolled out to the pad. Most of the team traveled to the pad a few hours after the transportation of the ILV began. We arrived just in time to witness the Russian specialists undertake the monumental task of erecting this huge rocket. Of course, we were not going to miss our chance to take a team photo in front of such an impressive sight. The Orbital, Telenor, ILS and KhSC teams are now completing final closeouts and checks, as well as rehearsing for Sunday’s long-awaited launch of the Proton M/Breeze M and THOR 5. [img]http://www.ilslaunch.com/assets/Images/Media/Thor-5-BLOG/DSC0064small.jpg[/img]
24 Feb 2008