LIVE: Proton-M launch with KA-SAT - 26 December 2010

[Satori]

[Satori]

[Chris Bergin]

2-3 Sep. Fairing jettison.

[Satori]

[Satori]

[Satori]

[Chris Bergin]

3-4 Sep. Now on the Breeze-M.

[Satori]

[Satori]

Remember that this is a 9 hour plus mission, so we still have a long way to go!!!

[Chris Bergin]

Breeze-M now into a coast phase.

[Chris Bergin]

Webcast coverage over. Thanks Rui!

[Targeteer]

Update from the ILS blog

Posted by ILS Communications Team, 8:55 p.m. EST on 26 December 2010

We have confirmed that the Breeze M Upper Stage has successfully completed its 3rd and 4th burns, as well as jettisoning its additional propellant tank. The vehicle is now in a 5-hour coast period, during which we will have nothing to report. The 5th burn is scheduled to start around 1:44 a.m. EST, or 06:44 GMT and burn approximately 6 minutes. Separation of the KA-SAT spacecraft is scheduled to follow the 5th burn completion by about 13 minutes.

[charlieb]

We at USN had initial acquisition of the spacecraft through our Australia station approx 1/2 hr ago.

[jan_carlo_bascu]

Launch Pictures

http://www.roscosmos.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=14467

[anik]

ILS PROTON SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES THE KA-SAT SATELLITE FOR EUTELSAT

Marks a Record of 8 Commercial Missions in 2010 for ILS

http://www.ilslaunch.com/news-122710

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, December 27, 2010 – International Launch Services (ILS), a world leader in providing launch services to the commercial space industry, successfully carried the KA-SAT satellite to orbit for Eutelsat Communications of France on an ILS Proton. The ILS Proton vehicle lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:51 a.m. local time (4:51 p.m. EST, 10:51 p.m. in Paris on December 26).  After a 9 hour 12 minute mission, the Breeze M successfully released the KA-SAT satellite into geostationary transfer orbit.

The launch of the KA-SAT satellite marks the 8th ILS Proton launch of the year; a record number of commercial launches for ILS. This was also the 64th commercial launch to date for ILS and the 12th Proton launch for the year. The Proton Breeze M vehicle is built by Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, one of the pillars of the Russian aerospace industry and majority owner of ILS. Proton has a heritage of 363 missions since its maiden flight in 1965.

The 6150 kg KA-SAT satellite was built on the Eurostar E3000 platform by Astrium and has a 15 year life expectancy.  With its total capacity of 70 Gbps, KA-SAT is ranked as the world’s most powerful satellite and will be situated at Eutelsat’s 9 degrees East location. Through a configuration of 82 spot beams and a ground infrastructure of ten gateways connected to the Internet, KA-SAT will provide service across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.

Frank McKenna, president of ILS said, “We worked very closely with Eutelsat and Astrium to ensure the successful launch of the KA-SAT satellite on ILS Proton. We are honored to play an important role in the deployment of innovative programs and technologies such as KA-SAT, the first European satellite that will operate exclusively in high capacity Ka-band frequencies. We thank Eutelsat for relying on ILS Proton once again to deliver their spacecraft securely into orbit.”

“We are pleased to continue our long term relationship with ILS with the launch of KA-SAT on the powerful Proton Breeze M rocket. The launch of this High Throughput Satellite marks the opening of a new era for satellite-delivered broadband and data services across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. It is also new evidence of Eutelsat’s commitment to innovation that broadens the scope of satellite-based services in a rapidly-expanding digital economy. Our sincere thanks and appreciation go out to the entire team of ILS, Khrunichev and Astrium, for their tireless work on this mission,” said Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat.

[Satori]

Exact launch time: 2150:59.972UTC, on December 26th.
KA-SAT separation at 0703:00.453UTC on December 27th.