Sun, Mar 02, 2008
International Launch Services (ILS)
has nailed down a contract for the launch of two SIRIUS Satellite
Radio satellites on their Proton Breeze M vehicle. SIRIUS expects
to launch SIRIUS FM-6 under the contract announced Friday. SIRIUS
FM-6 is currently under construction at Space Systems/Loral and is
anticipated to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2010. SIRIUS
has not yet announced plans to utilize the second launch.
The Proton booster and the Breeze M upper stage are built by
ILS’ Russian partner, Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow. The
Proton vehicle launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan.
“We thank SIRIUS for selecting Proton, and for its
long-term relationship with ILS,” said ILS President Frank
McKenna. “We launched SIRIUS’ initial constellation of
three satellites in 2000. Proton has the ideal performance for
SIRIUS, with both its heavy-lift capability and its flexibility to
carry spacecraft to various orbits.”
ILS is a joint venture of Space Transport Inc., along with
Khrunichev Space Center and RSC Energia of Moscow. ILS has
exclusive rights to market the Proton, Russia’s premier
heavy-lift vehicle, to commercial satellite operators worldwide.
The Proton has a heritage of 333 missions since 1965.
Proton builder Khrunichev is one of the cornerstones of the
Russian space industry. It was created from the merger of the
Khrunichev Machine-building Plant and the Salyut Design Bureau 15
years ago. The company includes among its branches a number of key
manufacturers of launch vehicle and spacecraft components in Moscow
and in other cities of the Russian Federation.
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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