We have had a successful mission with the ILS Proton Rocket, carrying the SES-6 satellite built by Astrium for SES. We have had confirmation that the SES-6 satellite separated from the vehicle on schedule at 8:49 pm EDT, or 00:49 GMT (June 4), 15 hours and 31 minutes after liftoff.
Everything occurred as planned for the 2nd ILS Proton Supersynchronous Mission. After the ignition, shutdown and separation of the ILS Proton’s first three stages, the Breeze M upper stage with the satellite continued the mission, igniting five times, and then releasing the satellite into transfer orbit.

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We have confirmed that the Breeze M upper stage has successfully completed its 3rd burn, APT jettison and its 4th burn. 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 at 8:33 pm EDT or 12:33 am GMT and last approximately 4 minutes. Separation of the SES-6 spacecraft is scheduled to follow the 5th burn completion by approximately 12 minutes.

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We have confirmed that the Breeze M upper stage has successfully begun its 3rd burn.  The Breeze M will be out of range until approximately 3:13 pm EDT or  7:13 pm GMT. Additional updates will follow.

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As the Breeze M upper stage of our Proton M rocket continues its climb into space with the SES-6 satellite onboard, we have received confirmation that the 2nd burn of the upper stage occurred and shut down as scheduled.
The 3rd Breeze M burn is scheduled to begin at approximately 9:42 AM EDT and last 9 minutes.  After that the auxiliary propulsion tank will be jettisoned and the 4th Breeze M burn will begin.

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We have received confirmation of completion of the first burn. The vehicle is now scheduled to be out of range for about an hour, after which we will hear confirmation of the second burn.

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We had a successful liftoff about 11 minutes ago of the ILS Proton M Breeze M rocket, which is carrying the SES-6 satellite onboard. The three stages of the Proton vehicle have performed as planned, and it is up to the Breeze M upper stage to complete the mission. The upper stage has begun its first burn, which is scheduled to last around 4 minutes.

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We have liftoff! of the Proton M Breeze M rocket and the SES-6 satellite.

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Summer has most definitely arrived in Baikonur, with daytime temperatures being in the 90s for the last few days, and forecasted to stay that way for the rest of the campaign. We’ve all been working hard since the start of joint operations. With everything proceeding nominally for our 3 June launch date, most of team was able to celebrate the American Memorial Day and the rollout of the ILV to the Breeze M fueling station with a BBQ. Thanks to those who organized it – the tri-tip, tenderloin and pizza were all excellent!  During the Breeze M fueling days the halls are closed, so some of the teams were able to enjoy a trip to the market and a visit to Korkut Ata, a Kazakh mausoleum near the launch complex.

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After saying goodbye to most of the Eutelsat 3D team and congratulating them on a successful launch, we had a busy few days of spacecraft (SC) propellant loading. Everything is going well so far, and that means some days at the hotel or a chance to go to town for some of us who are not involved in operations at the processing facility. Now with the start of joint operations, the teams will work together in the final stretch of the campaign for the last preparations of the Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV) for launch. We’ll celebrate SC fueling and the start of joint operations with a BBQ for the entire team this week!

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