Echostar sliding to right and Loral Orion Argentina deal:
(thanks phillips telecom)
Lightning strike, possible engine changeout impact Atlas launches
Launch of the EchoStar V communications satellite aboard an Atlas
IIAS rocket has been postponed from Friday until Monday after a lightning
strike at its Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., launch site on Monday, and
the Atlas launch after that may be delayed by the changeout of an RL-10
engine on its Centaur upper stage
Pending range clearance, the Space Systems/Loral-built EchoStar
Communications Corp. satellite will be launched at 1:11a.m. EDT Monday.
International Launch Services, which markets Atlas launches, said
technicians will examine the rocket and its payload to ensure they were not
damaged by the lightning strike at Launch Complex 36A.
Meanwhile, an ultrasound reinspection of the RL-10s on the Atlas IIA
set to launch the Navy's UHF F10 satellite on Sept. 30 has revealed a
single void in a welded combustion chamber splice joint on one of the
engines, raising the possibility it will have to be replaced. An ILS
spokesperson said yesterday it was too soon to say if the problem would
force a delay in that launch.
Also pending is an Atlas IIAS launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif.,
with NASA's Terra EOS-AM-1 remote sensing satellite aboard, tentatively set
for October (DAILY, Aug. 26). Technicians from Lockheed Martin and
enginemaker Pratt & Whitney have been reinspecting the flight-ready RL-10s
after questions arose about earlier inspections of the grounded engine, and
the NASA launch may slip into November, sources said yesterday (DAILY, Aug.
9).
LORAL ORION EXPANDS SERVICES IN
ARGENTINA UNDER NEW LICENSE AGREEMENT
Loral Orion Inc. [LOR] has been granted a license to expand its services in Argentina, company executives said yesterday. The
license will allow the Rockville, Md., company to provide an expanded range of satellite-based services to Argentina's businesses
including Internet and broadband television services.
The company earlier was authorized to offer its Digital Video Broadcast technology to Argentina.
As a result of the new agreement, Argentine Internet service providers now will have high-speed access to Internet content in the
United States and elsewhere, said Michael Carfley, president of Loral Orion Americas. "With this license, businesses almost
anywhere [in Argentina and other South American countries] can access Loral Orion's  international network of
dedicated satellite and fiber capacity," Carfley said.
Loral Orion, a subsidiary of Loral Space and Communications [LOR], is part of the Loral Data Services group. |
