ILS to launch commercial missions on Angara from 2017

[Chris Bergin]

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/07/ils-angara-rocket-commercial-missions/

[EgorBotts]

Thanks for the article, very informative.

I have a question though concerning ILS. After the last Proton failure some said in the forum that ILS had no new (publicly announced) signed contracts since early 2014. So are they trying to attract customers back with the new Angara coming into service or is it maybe a customer requirement to fly on this rocket type?

I only remember the SES representative saying that they wished for a 3 launch provider type of market...

[Star One]

Thanks for the article, very informative.

I have a question though concerning ILS. After the last Proton failure some said in the forum that ILS had no new (publicly announced) signed contracts since early 2014. So are they trying to attract customers back with the new Angara coming into service or is it maybe a customer requirement to fly on this rocket type?

I only remember the SES representative saying that they wished for a 3 launch provider type of market...

I would have thought it was more likely they were trying to attract new customers by showing that they are moving away from the Proton launcher.

[dkovacic]

Proton is bad on many levels (much higher failure rate, old design, toxic fuels, no commonality with kerolox engines used on all other launchers), plus it is launched from Baikonur...I think Russians would be very happy to migrate from Proton as soon as possible.

From customer perspective, I think reliability is the key problem with Proton.

[dkovacic]

According to satellitetoday.com, this ILS announcement is covering just Angara 1.2, with payload up to 3t to LEO. Angara 5, capable of 7.5t to GTO, would be available from 2021. So Proton is not being retired yet.

Source: http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2015/07/16/ils-starts-selling-angara-1-2-launches/

[owais.usmani]

According to satellitetoday.com, this ILS announcement is covering just Angara 1.2, with payload up to 3t to LEO. Angara 5, capable of 7.5t to GTO, would be available from 2021. So Proton is not being retired yet.

Source: http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2015/07/16/ils-starts-selling-angara-1-2-launches/

Yep:

http://www.ilslaunch.com/newsroom/news-releases/angara-12-launch-vehicle-enters-commercial-market

[Star One]

According to satellitetoday.com, this ILS announcement is covering just Angara 1.2, with payload up to 3t to LEO. Angara 5, capable of 7.5t to GTO, would be available from 2021. So Proton is not being retired yet.

Source: http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2015/07/16/ils-starts-selling-angara-1-2-launches/

I imagine in general Russia will be glad to rid itself of Proton which has often been the one to bring bad headlines to their industry in recent years.

[notsorandom]

The 2021 date for GTO launches is pending the completion of the Angara facilities at Vostochniy. The Angara 5 test flight launched out of Plesetsk and simulated a GSO launch and payload delivery. There is a very big plane change that has to happen when flying out of Plesetsk, more so than Vostochniy and therefor a loss in payload. However Vostochniy's schedule keep slipping. Could ILS offer GTO launch services out of Plesetsk with a big enough payload?

[aga]

acc. to anatoly zak, angara 5 can launch cca 5.4 t to gto from plesetsk
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/angara5.html

[vapour_nudge]

According to satellitetoday.com, this ILS announcement is covering just Angara 1.2, with payload up to 3t to LEO. Angara 5, capable of 7.5t to GTO, would be available from 2021. So Proton is not being retired yet.

Source: http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2015/07/16/ils-starts-selling-angara-1-2-launches/

I imagine in general Russia will be glad to rid itself of Proton which has often been the one to bring bad headlines to their industry in recent years.

Those who remember back to the 90s will recall many failures due to the Proton's upper stage. When it came time to launch some of the ISS modules in the late 90s, we all held our breath regarding the Proton in general. Then in 2000 they launched 14 in a year and with the gradual switch to the Breeze M I remember thinking maybe it will get better. But since 2006 there have been failures nearly every year and I wouldn't feel comfortable launching a payload on it.
I can only guess that when ILS stopped marketing Atlas, LM would have been quite happy to disassociate itself with them due to the Proton's record.

Roll on Angara. But remember that many of the recent failures have been basic human errors and  there's no guarantee Angara will be any better. We know Russia can churn out reliable, superior engines such as the RD180 so they really can overcome these quality issues with the right people. But if I were launching a payload, I'd want to see quite a few consecutive successes before I'd commit to using them

These are of course all personal opinions

[savuporo]

I imagine in general Russia will be glad to rid itself of Proton which has often been the one to bring bad headlines to their industry in recent years.

That would be shooting the messenger. Proton is the very visible bearer of bad kabooms, but the problem is not the vehicle. In the current state of industry, even trampoline launches would blow up now and then.
BTW, its not just rockets. Five military planes have crashed in Russia just in a past month.

[vapour_nudge]

Further to my recent post, here's all the full or partial failures I found in my list of Proton launches since I started logging them:

February     1996 Proton-K-DM?         Raduga
November   1996 Proton-K-DM?         Mars 96
December   1997 Proton-K-DM3          Asiasat 3
July            1999 Proton-K-Breeze-M Raduga
October      1999 Proton-K-DM?         Express A1
November   2002 Proton-K-DM3        Astra 1K
February     2006 Proton-M-Breeze-M Badr 1
September  2007 Proton-M-Breeze-M JCSat-11
March         2008 Proton-M-Breeze-M AMC-14
December   2010 Proton-M-DM3          Uragan x 3
August       2011 Proton-M-Breeze-M Express AM4
August       2012 Proton-M-Breeze-M Express M2, Telcom 3
December  2012 Proton-M-Breeze-M Yamal 402
July           2013 Proton-M-DM3          Uragan x 3
May           2014 Proton-M-Breeze-M Express AM4 Reflight
October     2014 Proton-M-Breeze-M Express AM6
May            2015 Proton-M-Breeze-M Mexsat 1

[dkovacic]

I imagine in general Russia will be glad to rid itself of Proton which has often been the one to bring bad headlines to their industry in recent years.

That would be shooting the messenger. Proton is the very visible bearer of bad kabooms, but the problem is not the vehicle. In the current state of industry, even trampoline launches would blow up now and then.
BTW, its not just rockets. Five military planes have crashed in Russia just in a past month.

Proton has failure rates approximately three times higher than Soyuz in the last five years. So it is extremely high even for Russian standards.

[baldusi]

I imagine in general Russia will be glad to rid itself of Proton which has often been the one to bring bad headlines to their industry in recent years.

That would be shooting the messenger. Proton is the very visible bearer of bad kabooms, but the problem is not the vehicle. In the current state of industry, even trampoline launches would blow up now and then.
BTW, its not just rockets. Five military planes have crashed in Russia just in a past month.

Proton is made in Voronezh, while Angara is Polyot, different cultures.

[Danderman]

Proton is made in Voronezh, while Angara is Polyot, different cultures.

AFAIK, Proton is made in Fili, not Voronezh, although the main engines were designed in Voronezh.

[tp1024]

Is there any information at all about launch price/cost? "Cheaper than Vega" doesn't quite cut it.

[baldusi]

Proton is made in Voronezh, while Angara is Polyot, different cultures.

AFAIK, Proton is made in Fili, not Voronezh, although the main engines were designed in Voronezh.

My mistake, the main engines are designed by NPO Energomash and manufactured at Proton-PM in Perm. The second a third stage engine are designed by KbKhA and manufactured at Voronezh Mechanical Plant. And the rocket (as well as Briz-M) are made in Khrunichev's plant in Fili. I understand that theS5.98 was designed by KB KhIMMASH, but I don't know where it ismade.

[Stan Black]

Commercial Angara 5 from Plesetsk is not really a competitive solution from a heavy lift performance standpoint. The Vostochny Cosmodrome will provide the necessary heavy lift capability that our commercial customers require.
The next Angara 5 flight is planned for 2017 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Following this launch, there will continue to be launches of Angara 5 from Plesetsk, as well as Angara 1.2. ILS will only be commercially marketing the Angara 1.2 from Plesetsk.

http://www.worldspaceriskforum.com/2016/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/WSRF-Newsletter-001-Dec2015v1.pdf

[Danderman]

Obviously, the home run would be replacement of Proton launches from Baikonur with Angara launches from Vostochny, but we are many years from that. Angara 1.2 is a Rockot replacement, for which there is not much demand.

[Sam Ho]

Obviously, the home run would be replacement of Proton launches from Baikonur with Angara launches from Vostochny, but we are many years from that. Angara 1.2 is a Rockot replacement, for which there is not much demand.

Yes, the problem with that market is that currently, most of those missions are Earth observation, for which there are requirements that they be on domestic launchers.  LEO constellations could be a big commercial market for this class, but it's as yet undeveloped.