ILS Declares Mission Anomaly

LAUNCH PAD

ILS Declares "Mission Anomaly" As Proton Upper Stage Fails

The Proton K

Baikonur - Nov. 26, 2002
International Launch Services regrets the failure of today's mission to put the ASTRA 1K satellite into proper orbit for SES-ASTRA.

The Proton K rocket, built by Khrunichev, lifted off on time at 4:04 a.m. today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (6:04 p.m. Monday EST, 2304 Monday GMT). All three stages of the Proton vehicle performed normally.

The Block DM upper stage, built by RSC Energia, performed its first burn as planned and reached a circular parking orbit of 175. 5 km (109 miles). Preliminary flight information indicates that the second burn of the Block DM upper stage did not occur as planned, and the ASTRA 1K satellite was separated into the parking orbit.

"We extend our sincerest condolences to SES-ASTRA and SES-GLOBAL for the apparent failure of the Block DM to place the ASTRA 1K satellite into the proper orbit," said ILS President Mark Albrecht.

"We have a long history of success with the SES-GLOBAL family of companies - SES was the first commercial customer on Proton. We have several missions next year with SES companies, and we are committed to providing timely, reliable service."

SES ASTRA Release
ASTRA 1K Satellite Fails To Reach Correct Orbit
Luxembourg - Nov 26, 2002 - SES ASTRA regrets to announce the failure of the Proton launch vehicle to place ASTRA 1K, the fourteenth satellite in the ASTRA series, into the correct orbit.
ASTRA 1K was built by Alcatel Space of France, with Proton launch services from the Cosmodrome of Baikonur (Khazakstan) provided by ILS (International Launch Services), a US-Russian joint venture. The spacecraft was intended to operate at ASTRA's orbital position of 19.2� East.
SES ASTRA has full insurance coverage for the ASTRA 1K programme and the launch failure will not affect existing services at 19.2� East. Furthermore, ASTRA 2C, already operational at 19.2� East, offers comprehensive back-up for the ASTRA low-bands at this slot and will remain there until further notice.
Interactive Ka-Band services will continue to be provided by the existing Ka-band payload on ASTRA 1H.
With an existing available surplus capacity of roughly 20% of the 13 satellite strong ASTRA fleet in orbit, SES ASTRA, over the coming months, will reassess its future needs and make investment decisions on ASTRA 1K replacement capacity accordingly.
The Proton K vehicle has flown 24 other missions for ILS since 1996, all with the Block DM upper stage. A mission failure in December 1997 also involved the Block DM. The Proton family - including the upgraded Proton M with the Khrunichev-built Breeze M upper stage - has flown 26 consecutive successful missions since February 2000.

ILS' next scheduled Proton mission employs the Proton M with the Breeze M upper stage. The Breeze M has flown successfully eight times in various configurations.

A Russian State Commission is being formed to determine the reasons for the anomaly. ILS will provide details as soon as definitive information is available for release. A copy of the official statement from Khrunichev will also be made available upon translation. In parallel with the State Commission, ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board to review reasons for the anomaly and define a corrective action plan.

"ILS will continue business as usual with its Lockheed Martin-built Atlas family of launch vehicles," Albrecht said. "We will work diligently with our partners to return the Block DM to flight as soon as possible for its few remaining missions on the ILS manifest."

ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) in the United States, with Russian companies Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia. ILS provides launch services on the Proton and the Atlas vehicles to customers worldwide.

SPACEMART

Astra 1K Ready For ILS Proton Ride

Luxembourg - Nov 22, 2002
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company are set to see the largest commercial spacecraft ever built in Europe launched on November 26, 2002, when the ASTRA 1K is boosted into GEO orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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