The vehicles are Atlas IIA, Atlas IIIB and Atlas V, all built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. ILS, based in McLean, Va., is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and two Russian companies, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia. ILS markets and manages the missions for the Atlas and the Russian Proton launch vehicles.

The Atlas vehicle family is entering its ninth year with 100 percent success, boasting a string of 58 launches.

"As the result of our marketing efforts over the last several years, ILS has lined up a robust manifest for 2002," said President Mark Albrecht. "We are very excited to be using all variants of the Atlas rocket this year for our customers, who include the world's major satellite operators."

First up is the Atlas IIIB, standing on Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 36B. It will carry a DBS satellite for Echostar Communications Corp. next week as mission AC-204.

This is the first Atlas IIIB version to be flown, and the second launch in the next-generation series that encompasses the Atlas III & Atlas V. The Atlas III can lift payloads up to 9,920 pounds (4,500 kg), using a powerful, Russian-developed RD-180 engine with variable thrust control.

Next is the Atlas IIA, on Pad 36A. It is set to lift a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-I) for NASA in early March for mission AC-143. ILS and Atlas IIA launched TDRS-H in July 1999; TDRS-J is set for this fall.

Across the Cape at Launch Complex 41, the first Atlas V was erected in its Vertical Integration Facility last week. Later this month, it will be moved to the launch pad for the first of three full-scale rehearsals for the inaugural mission, AV-001, set for May. The payload will be Eutelsat's HOT BIRD(TM) 6 broadcast and multimedia satellite.

The Atlas V family is designed to lift payloads up to 19,000 pounds (nearly 8,700 kg) to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). Lockheed Martin developed it both for ILS commercial missions and to meet the U.S. Air Force requirements for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

The Atlas V incorporates state-of-the-art designs, materials and processes, including the RD-180 engine, most of which have been flight-proven on the Atlas III.

Between the TDRS and HOT BIRD missions, ILS plans to launch one or two commercial satellites with the Proton rocket. Those campaigns will be conducted at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Like previous ILS missions, these will use the Proton K version with the Block DM upper stage, which can lift as much as 9,590 pounds (4,350 kg) to GTO.

ILS partner Khrunichev also conducts missions for the Russian government. One of those federal flights last year was the successful debut of the upgraded Proton M rocket with its Breeze M upper stage; that vehicle can lift 12,120 pounds (5,500 kg) to GTO, with further enhancements in development.

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.

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