Tag: International Launch Services
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Proton rocket successfully returns to flight after year-long grounding
A Proton rocket lifts off Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite. Credit: Khrunichev An EchoStar communications satellite designed to link Europeans with voice and broadband data services rode into orbit on top of a Russian Proton rocket Thursday, deploying into an on-target orbit after nine hours of maneuvers…
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Live coverage: Proton rocket blasts off for first time in a year
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Proton rocket with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Live video from ILS begins at approximately 0315 GMT (11:15 p.m. EDT).
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Russia recalls rocket engines, grounding Proton missions until spring
File photo of a Proton rocket rolling out to a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: ESA-Stephane Corvaja The Russian government is investigating flaws found in Proton rocket engines, ordering all suspect components to be replaced before the heavy-lift booster can resume launches and promising penalties for those responsible for allowing substandard…
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Proton rocket’s next flight moved back to next year
Proton and EchoStar 21 launch team members sign the rocket’s payload fairing in this image tweeted by International Launch Services on Dec. 21. Credit: ILS The first launch of a Russian Proton rocket since June has been delayed until at least January to conduct additional checks on the three-stage booster and its Breeze M upper…
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Orbital ATK books Proton rocket for first commercial satellite servicing mission
Artist’s concept of Orbital ATK’s Mission Extension Vehicle docked with a commercial communications satellite. Credit: Orbital ATK Armed with capital and an anchor customer for a trailblazing satellite life extension service, Orbital ATK has signed a contract to loft its first robotic servicing tug aboard a Russian Proton rocket in 2018 on a shared launch…
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Smaller variants of Russia’s Proton rocket on the market
Credit: ILS Khrunichev and International Launch Services, the team behind Russia’s Proton rocket, are developing two scaled-down versions of the booster in a bid to capture a wider share of the commercial launch market, the companies announced last week. The “Proton Medium” and “Proton Light” rocket variants could launch as soon as 2018 and 2019,…
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Smaller variants of Russia’s Proton rocket on the market
Credit: ILS Khrunichev and International Launch Services, the team behind Russia’s Proton rocket, are developing two scaled-down versions of the booster in a bid to capture a wider share of the commercial launch market, the companies announced last week. The “Proton Medium” and “Proton Light” rocket variants could launch as soon as 2018 and 2019,…
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Russia’s Angara rocket wins first commercial launch contract
File photo of the first test launch of the Angara 1.2 rocket in July 2014. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense South Korea’s space agency has signed a contract to launch an Earth observation satellite into orbit in 2020 aboard Russia’s Angara rocket, giving the new booster its first commercial customer, International Launch Services announced Monday.…
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Investigation into upper stage glitch delays next Proton launch
File photo of a Proton rocket launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Dec. 24, 2015. Credit: Roscosmos The launch of an EchoStar communications satellite to cover Europe has been delayed to October to allow Russian engineers to complete an inquiry into a glitch discovered during a Proton rocket flight in June, industry officials said. The…
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Photos: Proton rocket climbs into space from Kazakhstan
A Russian Proton rocket lifted off Thursday with a U.S.-built communications satellite to broadcast television over Latin America, firing into orbit from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Proton rocket and its Breeze M upper stage lifted off at 0710 GMT (3:10 a.m. EDT; 1:10 p.m. Baikonur time), turned northeast over the Kazakh steppe,…