PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Saturday, February 05, 2005
Source: International Launch Services
Double Success: ILS Launches Payloads with Atlas and Proton on Same Day
BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, and CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Feb. 3, 2005 - In a span of less than 10 hours, International Launch Services (ILS) placed two satellites in orbit today from space centers on opposite sides of the world.
The flights were carried out by, respectively, a Russian-built Proton/Breeze M vehicle from Baikonur and an American Atlas III vehicle from Cape Canaveral. ILS, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin of the United States (NYSE: LMT) and Khrunichev of Russia, markets both vehicles worldwide and manages the missions.
These back-to-back launches were the first missions in a busy year for ILS. "No one else can do this," said ILS President Mark Albrecht. "The cornerstone of ILS is offering two independent vehicles, launching from independent launch sites, which enables us to service two customers at the same time."
The Proton vehicle lifted off at 9:27 p.m. EST Wednesday (7:27 a.m. today in Baikonur, 2:27 today GMT), carrying the AMC-12 satellite for SES AMERICOM. After about 9 hours and 19 minutes of flight, the satellite separated from the launcher and went into orbit. AMC-12 is expected to go into service in April, providing communications for the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The satellite was built by Alcatel Space of France.
The Atlas III vehicle, designated AC-206, lifted off from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 36B at 2:41 a.m. EST (7:41 GMT) with a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. The payload was released into orbit about 79 minutes later. Details about the payload and mission, known as NROL-23, are classified. "
Alcatel is a strategic partner of Gilat , along with SES , in Satlynx.
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