SES AMERICOM has
signed a contract with International Launch Services (ILS) for the
launch of two cable television satellites in 2004. Financial terms
were not disclosed.
The contract calls for ILS to launch both satellites, AMC-10 and
AMC-11, during the first half of 2004. Atlas IIAS is the primary
vehicle, with a Proton M vehicle as the backup. ILS thus has received
15 new orders in the last 18 months, out of 34 open for competition.
The ILS backlog now stands at 33 missions.
“ILS has had a long-standing and successful relationship with both
AMERICOM and its parent company, SES GLOBAL, with nine launches,” said
ILS President Mark Albrecht. “In fact, an SES satellite was carried on
ILS’ first Proton launch. We’re pleased they have again demonstrated
their confidence by selecting the most reliable vehicles for their
critical replacement satellites.” He noted that SES GLOBAL and its
affiliated companies have placed six of their eight upcoming missions
on ILS vehicles (ASTRA 1K; AMC-9, -10, -11, -12; and AsiaSat 4).
AMC-10 and AMC-11 are A2100 model spacecraft being built by
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, to replace satellites at 131
and 135 degrees West longitude that are nearing the end of their life
in orbit. These next-generation satellites will combine to form
AMERICOM’s premiere cable neighborhood, featuring programming from
Viacom, Crown/Hallmark, C-SPAN, Scripps Networks, USA Networks and The
Weather Channel, all of which will be distributed across the 50 United
States, Mexico and the CXWc bean.
ILS, based in McLean, Va., is a joint venture, formed in 1995, of
Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) and two Russian companies,
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia.
ILS markets and manages the missions for the Atlas and Proton
vehicles. With two independent, highly reliable vehicles and two
dedicated launch sites, ILS pioneered the concept of Mutual Backup,
thus assuring satellites will be launched on schedule.
The Atlas family of vehicles has a record of 60 consecutive
successful launches over nine years with commercial and U.S.
government payloads. The Atlas II and Atlas III series boast 100
percent success, including launches in February and March of this
year. The next-generation Atlas V is scheduled to begin flying in
July.
The Proton has completed 23 consecutive successful missions in 28
months with payloads for ILS and for the Russian government. The most
recent ILS launches carried satellites for Intelsat in March and
DIRECTV in May. A mission for the Russian government was completed
June 10, and an ILS launch for EchoStar is set for this weekend. The
ASTRA 1K satellite for SES GLOBAL is set to launch in August.
ILS offers the broadest range of launch services in the world
along with products with the highest reliability in the industry. ILS’
Atlas rockets and their Centaur upper stages are built by Lockheed
Martin Space Systems Company-Astronautics Operations at facilities in
Denver, Colo.; Harlingen, Texas; and San Diego, Calif. The three-stage
Proton and the Breeze M upper stage are assembled by Khrunichev at its
plant near Moscow. The alternative Block DM upper stage is built by
Energia, also near Moscow. For more information, visit
www.ilslaunch.com.
About SES AMERICOM
With over 25 years’ experience, SES AMERICOM, Inc., is recognized
as a pioneer and leading provider of global satellite communications
services, currently providing capacity on 16 spacecraft capable of
serving the Americas, Europe, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean regions,
and Asia. As an SES GLOBAL company, AMERICOM is able to provide
end-to-end telecommunications solutions to any region in the world.
Contact:
ILS, McLean
Fran Slimmer, 571/633-7462
cell phone, 646/229-4801
fran.slimmer@lmco.com
