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International Launch Services (ILS) successfully launched the
DIRECTV 10 satellite today using an enhanced version of Russia's
premier vehicle, the Proton.
The Proton Breeze M rocket lifted off at 7:16 a.m. today local
time (9:16 p.m. Friday EDT, 01:16 today GMT) from the Cosmodrome's Pad
39. The mission lasted 9 hours and 8 minutes, before the Breeze M
upper stage placed the DIRECTV 10 satellite into a geosynchronous
transfer orbit. After about two months of in-orbit testing, the
satellite will move to its operating position of 102.8 degrees West
longitude to enhance DIRECTV's high-definition services across the
United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
"We're proud of the excellent performance of our Enhanced Proton
Breeze M and its demonstrated ability to lift such a massive payload
as the DIRECTV 10 satellite," said ILS President Frank McKenna. "At
around 6 metric tons, this Boeing 702 model was the heaviest
spacecraft launch for Proton."
McKenna continued: "Not only are we proud of the vehicle's
performance, we're also proud of our schedule performance. We met our
commitment to launch the satellite in order to support DIRECTV's goal
of delivering up to 100 national HDTV channels by the end of the
year."
This was the 41st mission for ILS, which is an American-based
joint venture of Space Transport Inc. and Russia's Khrunichev State
Research and Production Space Center, manufacturer of the Proton
vehicle.
The Proton enhancements demonstrated with this launch culminate
two years of research, development and testing by Khrunichev, one of
the cornerstones of the Russian space industry. While the primary
purpose was to meet the requirements of ILS commercial customers and
their larger satellites, the enhanced vehicle will ultimately be used
for Russian federal missions as well.
Modern design tools allowed Khrunichev to fine-tune such things as
fuel tanks, and redesign them to remove mass while maintaining safety
margins. Lighter materials were used between the rocket's stages, and
graphite epoxy sections replaced metal interstage adapters.
Additionally, the Breeze M reaction control system (RCS) has been
improved. As part of this, the RCS fuel tanks were reduced in number
from six to only two. "Reducing the number of parts and manufacturing
one standardized version of the vehicle inherently improves
reliability," McKenna said.
This was the third DIRECTV satellite launched on a Proton vehicle.
DIRECTV 8 was launched on May 22, 2005, and DIRECTV 5 was carried to
orbit May 7, 2002.
ILS, based in McLean, Va., has exclusive rights to market the
Proton vehicle worldwide to commercial satellite operators. As of the
first half of this year, the company brought in more than $1 billion
in new business and has a backlog of 20 missions.
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