[FPSPACE] ILS Proton will launch the Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite at 18:43 (6:43 PM) EDT on 18 August 2008.

Mon Aug 18 13:04:53 EDT 2008

In keeping the the "Friends and Partners in 
Space" theme of this list, there is a commercial 
mission about to launch that has over the past 
year brought together people from many countries, 
including the U.S, Russia, France, the UK, Italy, Kazahkstan, etc.

For those interested, an ILS Proton will launch 
the Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite at 18:43 (6:43 PM) EDT on 18 August 2008.

Info at <http://www.ilslaunch.com/inmarsat4f3-mission-control>

Streaming video will be shown on 
<http://streamvox.streamos.com/vyvx/ils081808/>.

Broadcast will start at 18:18 (6:18 PM) EDT.

Benigno Muniz Jr.
Inmarsat-4 F3 Program Director
International Launch Services (ILS)

*************************
Media Advisory
ILS Proton to launch Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite

Aug. 13, 2008

Payload:
Inmarsat-4 F3 communications satellite
Eurostar 3000GM bus
Separated spacecraft mass: Approx. 13,140 lbs (5,960 kg)

Launch Vehicle:
Proton M/Breeze M
Weight at liftoff:  702,000 kg (1,547,000 lbs), including payload
Height: 58.2 m (191 ft)

Launch Date:
August 19 (Baikonur)
August 18 (GMT, London, U.S.)

Launch Time:
04:43 Baikonur
23:43 London
18:43 EDT
22:43 GMT

Launch Site:
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launch Pad 39

Launch Customer:
Inmarsat, London

Satellite Manufacturer:
EADS Astrium, France

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

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

Satellite Use:
Mobile broadband services, delivering enhanced 
voice and high-speed data services to users on 
land, at sea and in air across the globe.

Satellite Statistics:
        • L-Band, C-Band, Nav Band, and TTC Band
        • Orbital location:  98 degrees West longitude
        • Anticipated service life into the 2020’s

Mission Profile:
The Proton M launch vehicle, utilizing a 5-burn 
Breeze M mission design, will lift off from Pad 
39 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, with the 
Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite on board. The first three 
stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent 
trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth stage and 
the Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite into a suborbital 
trajectory from which the Breeze M will then 
place itself and the spacecraft into a low Earth 
circular parking orbit. Once Inmarsat-4 F3 is in 
the parking orbit, it will be injected into a 
geosynchronous transfer orbit following four additional burns of the Breeze M.

Target Orbit at Separation:
        • Apogee: 35,786 km (22,236 miles)
        • Perigee:  4,271 km (2,654 miles)
        • Inclination: 22.8 degrees

Spacecraft Separation:
Approximately 9 hours, 3 minutes after liftoff

ILS Mission Statistics:
        • 3rd ILS launch of 2008
        • 46th Proton launch for ILS
        • 9th Eurostar satellite launched on Proton

Launch Broadcast times for ILS Proton Inmarsat-4 F3:
Test signals starting at 6:00 PM ET US 18 August 2008 (22:00 GMT)
Live coverage starting at 6:20 PM ET US 18 August 2008 (22:20 GMT)
Liftoff is scheduled for 6:43 PM ET US 18 August 2008 (22:43 GMT)

Launch Broadcast may be seen in the US on:
Carrier: INTELSAT
Satellite: GALAXY 28
Transponder 15C
C-Band Analog NTSC
Orbital Location: 89 degrees West
Bandwidth: 36 MHz
Downlink Frequency: 4000.00 MHz (V)

Launch Broadcast may be seen in Europe and Western Asia on:
Carrier: Newskies
Satellite: NSS-7
Transponder - WHL4/EUH3 Ch 1
Digital PAL (In Clear)
Bandwidth: 9 MHz
Orbital Location: 338 degrees East
Downlink Frequency: 11,095.600 (H)
Sym Rate 5.632
FEC 3/4

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

McLEAN, Va., and LONDON, July 1, 2008  
International Launch Services (ILS) has scheduled 
its next Proton Breeze M commercial mission for 
August 14 (August 13 GMT) from the Baikonur 
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the launch of the Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite.

The satellite is scheduled to be shipped to 
Baikonur in early July for a six-week launch 
programme.  The satellite, an EADS Astrium 
Eurostar 3000 model, will weigh approximately 6 
metric tons at liftoff, perfectly suited for the 
Proton Breeze M’s lift capability.  Khrunichev 
Space Center of Moscow, the majority shareholder 
in ILS, manufactures the Proton system.

The Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite will complete 
Inmarsat’s next-generation global satellite 
network, providing broadband MSS services to users everywhere.

This is the first ILS mission since a Breeze M 
upper stage suffered a failure during the AMC-14 
mission in March.  The Proton Breeze M is ready 
to return to flight now that a Russian State 
Commission and an ILS-led independent review 
panel have concluded their inquiries into that 
incident and corrective actions have been completed.

“Having participated in the failure review 
process in its entirety, I am satisfied that the 
appropriate actions have been taken to deal with 
recent failures and to reassess the quality of 
the Proton vehicle. Inmarsat now expects to 
transport the satellite to the launch site and 
complete certain other formalities in sufficient 
time to target the launch date announced today,” 
said Gene Jilg, Chief Technology Officer for Inmarsat.

“We thank Inmarsat for its support and patience,” 
said ILS President Frank McKenna.  “We know how 
important this satellite is for the continued 
success of Inmarsat’s growing broadband services, 
and we look forward to the start of the campaign in the coming days.”

About ILS and Khrunichev:
ILS provides satellite customers with a complete 
array of services and support, from contract 
signing through mission management and on-orbit 
delivery.  ILS has exclusive rights to market the 
Proton, Russia’s premier heavy-lift vehicle, to 
commercial satellite operators worldwide, as well 
as the Angara next-generation launcher.  ILS is a 
U.S. company incorporated in Delaware, and 
headquartered in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C.