| January 28, 2005 |
| Payload: AMC-12 communications satellite Alcatel Space Spacebus 4000 platform Separated spacecraft mass: Approx. 10,966 lbs (4,974 kg)Launch Vehicle: Proton M/Breeze M Weight at liftoff: 691,272 kg (1.5 million lbs), including payload Height: 61 m (200 ft) Launch Date: Feb. 3 (Baikonur, GMT) Launch Window Opens: 7:27 a.m. Baikonur Launch Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan Launch Customer: SES AMERICOM, Princeton, N.J. Satellite Manufacturer: Alcatel Space, Cannes, France Launch Vehicle Manufacturer: Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Moscow Launch Services Provider: International Launch Services (ILS), McLean, Va. Satellite Use: Formerly called Worldsat-2, the AMC-12 is a high-power C-band satellite with three regional beams: North America, South America and Europe/Africa. It will support a wide range of communications applications. Satellite Statistics: Mission Profile: The Proton launch vehicle will inject the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, using a five-burn Breeze M mission design. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth stage, with the satellite, into a suborbital trajectory, from which the Breeze M will place itself and the spacecraft into a support or reference orbit of 173 km (107 miles), inclined at 51.5 degrees. Then the satellite will be propelled to its transfer orbit by additional burns of the Breeze M. Following separation from the Breeze M, the spacecraft will perform a series of liquid apogee engine burns to raise perigee, lower inclination and circularize the orbit at the geostationary altitude of 36,000 km (22,300 miles). Target Orbit at Separation: Spacecraft Separation: Approximately 9 hours, 20 minutes after liftoff ILS Mission Statistics: NEWS MEDIA ACTIVITIES Live Broadcast in U.S.: AMC-4, transponder 17 C-band, 101 degrees West, downlink 4040 MHz (vertical), analog. In Europe, Russia & Kazakhstan: New Skies NSS-7, transponder ENV-1/EUH-1, Channel 2, Ku-band; 338 degrees West; bandwidth 9 MHz; FEC 3/4; downlink 10995.5 MHz (horizontal); symbol rate 6.1113. More Information: Live webcast and general mission information are available on the ILS web site at www.ilslaunch.com. Launch status updates are available on the ILS U.S. domestic Launch Hotline at 1-800-852-4980.
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