30 Jan 2016

ILS PROTON SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES THE EUTELSAT 9B SATELLITE

International Launch Services (ILS) successfully placed the EUTELSAT 9B satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit today, for Eutelsat Communications of Paris, France. With this mission, ILS, a leader in providing mission integration and launch services to the global commercial satellite industry, completed its 92nd Proton launch overall and 1st Proton launch of 2016. Since its maiden flight in 1965, this was the 410th aggregate launch for the Proton vehicle, including both Federal and commercial missions.
The launch of EUTELSAT 9B, built by Airbus Defence and Space, was conducted for Eutelsat using the Proton Breeze M launch vehicle, manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (Khrunichev), the majority owner of ILS and one of the cornerstones of the global space industry.

READ MORE

21 Jan 2016

ILS DELAYS PROTON LAUNCH OF EUTELSAT 9B

The launch of a Proton launch vehicle with the EUTELSAT 9B satellite has been delayed two days due to weather-related logistical issues associated with the nominal delivery of the second stage solid retro rockets. The launch vehicle processing continues without any technical issues, including the retro rockets, and the spacecraft remains in a safe configuration at the launch site.

READ MORE

15 Dec 2015

Full Steam Ahead!

The last three days have been a beehive of activity in Hall 101 as teams have come and gone to perform a multitude of operations to ensure that the SC and Breeze-M are healthy, verified and ready for upcoming operations.  The cumulation of all these operations will be an encapsulated SC/Breeze M thus transforming into our E9B AU (Ascent Unit)…aka the pointy piece (nose cone) of the launch vehicle.

READ MORE

15 Dec 2015

Joint Operations has begun!

There you have it….as Sunday 13 Dec draws to a close, so does Day 1 of Joint Operations for the E9B launch campaign.  Our day started early, Airbus prepared and transferred the fully fueled SC from Hall 103A thru to Hall 101.  Once in H101 a plethora of operations took place prior to the actual lifting of the SC and mating with the KhSC Payload Adapter.  The remainder of the day has been spent connecting umbilicals, running a battery of electrical tests, and finalizing preparations prior to the lifting and mating with our Breeze-M.  It has been a day of multiple teams of specialists performing incredibly detail orientated work.  Tonight’s operations will close with another electrical test and review of test results. 
Tomorrow Monday 14 Dec will be Day 2 of Joint Operations and yes…you guessed it, another early kick-off for the day.

READ MORE

11 Dec 2015

E9B Fully Fueled

…and we are fueled! 2 days of MON loading, 1 day of Hall 103A reconfiguration, 2 days of MMH loading and we now have a fully fueled E9B SC!  Well done Airbus Stevenage CPS team and ground support crew!

READ MORE

Contact Us!

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