Author Topic: LIVE: Hot Bird 8 launch - Aug 4  (Read 69403 times)

Offline anik

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LIVE: Hot Bird 8 launch - Aug 4
« on: 05/03/2006 08:25 pm »
Proton-M (8K82KM No. 53514) rocket for launch of Hot Bird 8 satellite has arrived at Baikonur cosmodrome by rail on April 28... Hot Bird 8 will be delivered there on June 5 and launched on July 7... Briz-M (14S43 No. 88516) upper stage for this launch will arrive on cosmodrome later...

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #1 on: 05/24/2006 05:02 pm »
According to http://www.federalspace.ru/PlanQuart.asp?Lang=ENG Hot Bird 8 satellite will arrive at Baikonur on June 20 and will be launched on July 21...

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #2 on: 06/06/2006 07:16 pm »
An unloading of blocks of Proton-M rocket was begun on June 5 (according to Novosti kosmonavtiki website)...

Offline astropl

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #3 on: 06/10/2006 09:30 pm »
Quote
anik - 6/6/2006  9:03 PM

An unloading of blocks of Proton-M rocket was begun on June 5 (according to Novosti kosmonavtiki website)...

According to MID KazSat-1 planned launch time is 22:44 UT on June, 17th:
http://www.ln.mid.ru/ns-dvbr.nsf/dvzaprkt
Waldemar Zwierzchlejski (astropl)
http://lk.astronautilus.pl

Offline europasat

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #4 on: 06/20/2006 09:00 pm »
an news about the craft delivery of hotbird 8 which supposed to be delivered to baikonur today for the launch hotbird 8 using the proton-M/Breeze-M rocket on the 21st of july or later???????

Offline Space Lizard

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #5 on: 06/21/2006 07:23 am »
Last time I checked with Eutelsat (early June), that was only a proposed schedule.
I watch rockets

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #6 on: 06/29/2006 08:35 pm »
According to http://astro.zeto.czest.pl/plan the new launch date of Hot Bird 8 satellite is August 4 now...

Offline Chris Bergin

RE: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #7 on: 07/06/2006 11:08 am »
ILS Schedules Proton Breeze M Return to Flight in
                August with Eutelsat's HOT BIRD(TM) 8


    MCLEAN, Va.--July 6, 2006--International Launch Services (ILS) has
scheduled its next Proton mission for Aug. 5 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan
(Aug. 4 GMT) with the launch of the HOT BIRD(TM) 8 satellite for
Eutelsat. Following that, ILS plans two additional Proton Breeze M
missions in 2006, based upon customers' satellite delivery schedules.
    The HOT BIRD 8 satellite arrived in Baikonur this morning.
Weighing 4.9 tons and equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders for
television and radio broadcasting, HOT BIRD 8 will be the largest
satellite yet orbited by Eutelsat.
    This is ILS' second Proton mission of the year and fourth launch
overall for 2006. ILS suspended missions with the Breeze M upper stage
after a Feb. 28 launch failed to place the Arabsat 4A satellite into
the correct orbit. ILS is ready to return to flight with its Proton
M/Breeze M vehicle now that a Russian State Commission and an
independent review panel have concluded their inquiries into that
failure.
    "As we start the launch campaign, we acknowledge the confidence of
our long-standing customer Eutelsat in the Proton M/Breeze M vehicle,"
said ILS President Mark Albrecht.
    "The Proton M launch vehicle has a 100 percent success rate, and
the reliability of the Breeze M upper stage remains one of the highest
in the industry," Albrecht said. "With the arrival of the satellite,
all the flight hardware is in place to start operations."
    ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) and
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Russia. Based
in McLean, Va., ILS markets commercial launch missions on the Lockheed
Martin Atlas and the Khrunichev-built Proton vehicles to satellite
operators worldwide.
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Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #8 on: 07/12/2006 03:58 pm »
The latest news about preparation to this launch:

ILS Current Campaign Blog - HOT BIRD 8
http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #9 on: 07/18/2006 07:21 pm »
Ready for the Milestone
http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 21:55, 17 July, Baikonur

"Everything is going well. The SC team worked Sunday, getting us ready for the SC propellant load. Today, the prop team took a rest prior to starting the load tomorrow. The SC Assembly, Integration, and Test (AIT) team continued working two shifts today to do their internal preparations for launch...

...There are two days of loading, one for oxidizer and one for fuel. We will load ox tomorrow, then fuel on Thursday. The day in between is for reconfiguration of the systems: disconnecting the propellant cylinders and swapping them out, flushing and changing over the waste systems, changing load carts, etc."

P.S.: According to Spaceflight Now, the launch should be at 21:48 UTC on August 4...

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #10 on: 07/19/2006 06:43 pm »
One Down, One to Go
http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 19:20, July 18, Baikonur  

"The SC prop load team loaded the oxidizer tanks earlier today."

P.S.: According to Novosti kosmonavtiki website, the fuelling of high pressure tanks of the Briz-M upper stage has begun at site 31 on July 19...

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #11 on: 07/21/2006 07:30 pm »
Propulsion Ops Complete
http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 21:53, July 20, Baikonur  

"We just finished a major milestone for the satellite this evening. The SC propulsion team completed the load of fuel (monomethylhydrazine, or MMH) into the SC tanks. That means our little HOT BIRD will be ready to leave the nest soon! She's got full tanks and will be able to fly herself to final position once we give her a boost...

...The fueling completes the SC standalone operations. Next, we will lift the SC up, mate it to the LV adapter, and then mate the adapter to the Breeze M upper stage. At each phase we will carefully check the electrical and mechanical links. By early next week, we will be ready to encapsulate the SC in the payload fairing (PLF)."

HOT BIRD 8 Mission Overview
http://www.ilslaunch.com/pubs/hotbird-mission-overview.pdf

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #12 on: 07/23/2006 04:48 pm »
According to http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=1667 (in Russian), Hot Bird 8 satellite was attached to the transitive system... After electric checks, the assembly of Hot Bird 8 satellite and transitive system was docked to Briz-M upper stage...

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #13 on: 07/25/2006 08:09 pm »
http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

Spacecraft Mate
Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 18:15, 22 July, Baikonur
   
"...This morning we entered our next major phase of the campaign. The SC rolled out from Hall 103 to the high bay, Hall 101, in order to prepare for mating to the launch vehicle adapter. By 9 a.m. it was suspended from the lift and beginning the gentle process of setting down on the adapter. The specialists from Saab installed and tightened the clampband, which holds the SC to the adapter. Now we are working to do electrical checks of the SC through the adapter transit cables. When completed, the whole SC (with adapter now attached), will be lifted and placed atop the Breeze M upper stage.

The Breeze M is installed in the integration/tilting fixture. Electrical checks with it were accomplished yesterday. By midnight tonight, we should be mated to the upper stage and checked out. Next, we will tilt the whole thing horizontally, do RF checks and remove protective covers in preparation for encapsulation."

Mate to Breeze M
Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 18:30, 24 July, Baikonur

"We had a very busy weekend here in Baikonur. As of today, the SC has been mated to the adapter, lifted onto the Breeze M upper stage and initially encapsulated in the payload fairing (PLF). It takes a lot of work by many different teams to get through these critical activities. One of those teams is the Saab Ericsson specialists who install the clampband, which holds the SC to the adapter.

After the SC is mated to the upper stage using this clampband, the whole assembly is tilted over horizontally. Just think how strong this adapter and the bolts holding the upper stage must be - the SC weighs nearly 5 metric tons when fueled..."

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #14 on: 07/26/2006 07:08 pm »
Verification & Installation
Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 19:05, 25 July, Baikonur
   
"ILS completed the process of verifying that the Bunker and the Vault are ready to support the HOTBIRD 8 mission. KhSC continued final preparations with the payload fairing. The Bunker is where the ILS launch program director will sit, along with the KhSC counterpart, the Eutelsat customer and the launch vehicle person who actually interfaces with the launch equipment. We have a ton of communications lines and an abort button. That is the Bunker team’s major function: aborting the launch if the SC is not ready. The underpad Vault is where the SC interface rack is located. This allows the SC folks to remotely power up and monitor their SC while it is on the launch pad..."

Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #15 on: 07/27/2006 05:32 pm »
Ascent Unit Transport
Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 18:15, 26 July, Baikonur

http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

"We got a huge amount done today, but the BIG news was that the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, visited Building 92A-50 and Hall 111 where our Proton rocket and now, the ascent unit are located... He had quite an entourage, around 30-40 people, media, cameras, etc...

Today the SC, encapsulated in the payload fairing -- which we will call the AU (ascent unit) from now on -- moved by transporter out of one end of the building and into the other to meet up with the Proton LV first three stages. The LV electrical harnesses, which connect from the base of the rocket all the way to the SC, checked out using the SC test equipment from the control room. The cool thing about our Proton is that ALL of what are commonly called "umbilical cables" attach to the bottom of the rocket. Although there are some cables hooked up directly into the fairing, those will be disconnected. So, for lift-off, you won't see any of those dangling cables that you see on other rockets.

We also moved a rack of electronic equipment to the launch pad and lowered it into the underpad Vault using a mobile crane. This rack will help the SC folks communicate with the SC from the control room at Building 92A-50, to the launch pad, and up through those very same LV harness cables, once we move the rocket out to the launch pad and erect it.

Next we will be mating the AU to the Proton LV to make the Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV). It seems like things really accelerate when we get to this point. We are 10 days away from launch and there are faxes and memos flying back and forth."

Offline Chris Bergin

RE: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #16 on: 07/28/2006 03:26 pm »
( BW)(VA-ILS) ADVISORY/ILS Proton to Launch HOT BIRD 8

    Assignment Desks/News Editors
    ADVISORY...

    --(BUSINESS WIRE)--International Launch Services (ILS):

Payload:                    HOT BIRD 8
                            Eurostar E3000 platform
                            Separated mass: approx. 4,875 kg
                            (10,748 lbs)

Launch Vehicle:             Proton M/Breeze M
                            Weight at liftoff: 691,272 kg
                            (1.5 million lbs), including payload
                            Height: 61 m (200 ft)

Launch Time:                3:48 a.m. Aug. 5 Baikonur
                            21:48 Aug. 4 GMT
                            5:48 p.m. Aug. 4 EDT

Launch Site:                Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
                            Launch Pad 39

End User:                   EUTELSAT, Paris

Satellite Manufacturer:     EADS Space, Toulouse, France

Launch Vehicle              Khrunichev State Research and Production
Manufacturer:               Space Center, Moscow

Launch Services             International Launch Services (ILS)
Provider:                   McLean, Va.

Satellite Use:              Multipurpose Ku-band communications
                            satellite serving cable and satellite
                            homes in Europe, North Africa and the
                            Middle East, including Russia and
                            Kazakhstan.

Satellite Statistics:       --  64 active Ku-band transponders
                            --  Largest satellite to date in Eutelsat
                                fleet
                            --  Orbital location: 13 degrees East
                                longitude
                            --  Anticipated service life of 15 years

Mission Profile:            The Proton launch vehicle will inject the
                            satellite into geosynchronous transfer
                            orbit, using a five-burn Breeze M mission
                            design. The first three stages of the
                            Proton will use a standard ascent
                            trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth
                            stage, with the satellite, into a
                            suborbital trajectory, from which the
                            Breeze M will place itself and the
                            spacecraft into a circular parking orbit
                            of 173 km (107.5 miles), inclined at 51.5
                            degrees. Then the satellite will be
                            propelled to its transfer orbit by
                            additional burns of the Breeze M.
                            Following separation from the Breeze M,
                            the spacecraft will perform a series of
                            liquid apogee engine burns to raise
                            perigee, lower inclination and circularize
                            the orbit at the geostationary altitude of
                            35,786 km (22,236 miles).

Target Orbit                Apogee: 35,786 km (22,236 miles)
at Separation:              Perigee: 3,800 km (2,361 miles)
                            Inclination: 13 degrees

Spacecraft Separation:      Approximately 9 hours, 11 minutes after
                            liftoff

ILS Mission Statistics:     --  2nd ILS Proton mission of 2006
                            --  4th ILS mission overall for 2006
                            --  6th Proton launch of Eurostar bus
                            --  37th ILS mission on Proton

Live Broadcast              Satellite IA-6, 93 degrees West,
in North America:           transponder 11, C-band, analog NTSC,
                            downlink 3920 MHz (vertical)
                            Test signals start at 5 p.m. EDT

Live Broadcast              Sesat 1, 36 degrees East, transponder
in Europe &                 B3 Channel G, Ku-band, digital PAL,
Middle East:                downlink 11,097.500 MHz (horizontal),
                            symbol rate 6.1113, fec: 3/4
                            Test signals start at 21:00 GMT

More Information:           Live webcast and general mission
                            information are available on the ILS web
                            site at www.ilslaunch.com.  Launch status
                            updates are available on the ILS U.S.
                            domestic Launch Hotline at 1-800-852-4980.
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Offline anik

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Re: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #17 on: 07/29/2006 07:48 pm »
Integrated Launch Vehicle
Posted By: HOT BIRD 8 Team at 18:37, 27 July, Baikonur

http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

"What a day! Activities are ramping up as we approach the final week before liftoff. We completed the mate of the ascent unit to the LV today. It’s an exciting process to watch, even though the mechanics of it happen very slowly. Once that finished, we ran electrical and mechanical checks on all of the cables and systems connecting the two segments and also the fiber optics that run to the control room. Everything checked out perfectly. Now that they are joined, we call the whole thing the Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV).

Tomorrow, we get to see something even more amazing than today’s mate: two 50-ton bridge cranes will use a lifting beam to pick up the ILV and place it on the launch transporter. As you can see from the picture, the ILV is huge so you can imagine what a feat that is to witness."

Offline jacqmans

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RE: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #18 on: 07/31/2006 06:29 pm »
EADS space built Hot Bird-8 ready for launch for Eutelsat

http://www.space.eads.net/press-center/press-releases/eads-space/eads-space-built-hot-bird-8-ready-for-launch-for-eutelsat

Baikonur, 28 July 2006

Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD 8 broadcast satellite is being prepared in Baikonur for an ILS Proton Breeze M launch scheduled for 4 August at 21:48 GMT (03:48 Aug 5 in Baikonur). Based on EADS SPACE’s Eurostar E3000, HOT BIRD 8 is the most powerful satellite ever ordered to serve Europe.
The new satellite will join Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD system at Eutelsat’s prime video neighbourhood, which delivers 950 television channels and 600 radio stations to 110 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Designed to cover all the frequencies of the 102 transponders positioned at 13 degrees East, HOT BIRD 8 could substitute for any of the other satellites at this location.
Equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders, HOT BIRD 8 has a capacity almost three times that of the previous-generation HOT BIRD satellites. The satellite will operate with a payload power in excess of 11 kW, which makes it the most powerful satellite ever built in Europe and the most powerful satellite ever ordered by a European operator.

As prime contractor for HOT BIRD 8, EADS SPACE designed and built the satellite, including the Ku-band payload and the platform. The satellite is a Eurostar E3000 model equipped with a two-level communications module, an all-chemical propulsion system and lithium-ion batteries. It will have a launch weight of almost 5 metric tons. The solar panels, spanning 39 metres once unfolded in orbit, will provide more than 14 kW of electric power. HOT BIRD 8 is designed to have a 15-year service life in orbit.
To date 43 Eurostar satellites have been ordered, 29 of which have already been successfully launched. Six Eurostar E3000s are currently operating in orbit, while nine more are in production.

EADS SPACE is Europe’s leading satellite system specialist. Its satellites activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation systems, science and navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and equipment. In 2005 EADS SPACE had a turnover of €2.7 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of €34.2 billion and employed a workforce of more than 113,000.

Press contacts:

Rémi Roland, EADS SPACE +33 (0) 1 42 24 27 34
Frédéric-Pierre Isoz, EADS SPACE +33 (0) 1 42 24 28 77
Jeremy Close, EADS SPACE (UK) +44 (0) 1438 77 38 72
Mathias Pikelj, EADS SPACE (GER) +49 (0) 7545 8 9123
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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RE: Hot Bird 8 launch - July 21
« Reply #19 on: 07/31/2006 06:35 pm »
31-07-2006

http://www.roscosmos.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=1684

(translation below)

In Baikonur completes the preparation for the starting of telecommunication KA "khot Baird -8" at the spaceport Baikonur they continue work on preparation for the starting of carrier rocket "Proton-k" with the starting block "Breeze- M" and the telecommunication automatic spacecraft "khot Baird -8". In the morning on 30 July carrier rocket was transported from the assembly and testing housing to the technical servicing station for servicing of the tanks of the low pressure of starting block "Breeze- M". After the completion of transport and assembling of diagram, began servicing starting block with propellant components. The servicing is conducted during 30-31 July and the servicing must be completed to the end of the workday on 31 July. To the evening on 31 July is assigned the session of state commission, at which the sums of work with the carrier rocket, the starting block and the automatic spacecraft will be supplied and is made decision about conducting of removal. On 1 August carrier rocket must be exported to the launching system, and on 5 August it is planned to produce launching.
Jacques :-)

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