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ILS begins next launch campaign ILS NEWS RELEASE Posted: October 12, 2006 International Launch Services (ILS) kicked off its next Proton launch campaign this week with the arrival Tuesday of the satellite payload, Arabsat's BADR-4, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. With the delivery of the Proton's Breeze M upper stage today, all flight hardware is in place for the scheduled Nov. 9 launch. The liftoff time is 2:01 a.m. in Baikonur, 20:01 Nov. 8 GMT and 3:01 p.m. Nov. 8 EST. The BADR-4 launch will be followed in about a month by another ILS Proton mission, with the MEASAT-3 satellite. The Russian government also has scheduled the launch of a GLONASS navigation satellite on a Proton vehicle in December, making for a busy fourth quarter. "We are committed to successfully delivering our customers' satellites to orbit on schedule with the Proton launch system," said Frank McKenna, ILS president. The BADR-4 satellite is an Astrium Eurostar E2000+ model, the third Eurostar satellite to be launched this year on Proton. Astrium contracted with ILS for the launch on behalf of the end-user, Arabsat. The spacecraft is a multipurpose communications satellite designed to serve the Arab countries and neighboring regions. The Ku-band payload will carry direct-to-home, interactive TV and internet broadband services, with additional capacity to accommodate anticipated demand for high-definition TV. International Launch Services is the U.S.-Russian joint venture between Space Transport Inc. and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center with RSC Energia. ILS has the exclusive rights for worldwide commercial sales and mission management of satellite launches on Russia's premier vehicle, the Proton, and the future Angara vehicle. ILS is incorporated in Delaware in the United States, and is headquartered in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C. |
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The three-man Expedition 14 crew of the International Space Station complete a short trip, flying their Soyuz capsule to another docking port in preparation for receiving a resupply ship.
Space shuttle Discovery's STS-39 flight, launched in April 1991, served as a research mission for the U.S. Department of Defense. An instrument-laden spacecraft for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization was released to watch Discovery perform countless rocket firings and maneuvers, as well as canisters releasing clouds of gas. The crew tells the story of the mission in this post-flight film presentation.
Seeking to study explosive forces across the universe, the Gamma Ray Observatory was launched aboard shuttle Atlantis in April 1991. But when the craft's communications antenna failed to unfold, spacewalking astronauts ventured outside the shuttle to save the day. The rescue EVA was followed by a planned spacewalk to test new equipment and techniques. The crew of STS-37 narrate this post-flight mission film.
Dazzling images from Mars are revealed by scientists. The robotic rover Opportunity has reached the massive Victoria crater with its steep cliffs and layers of rock exposing the planet's geologic history. Meanwhile, the new Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has photographed the rover and its surroundings from high above.