ILS release
ILS Atlas V Vehicle Lifts Massive Satellite For Inmarsat
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., March 11, 2005 – An Atlas V
launch vehicle carried its largest payload to date into orbit tonight,
the Inmarsat 4-F1 satellite that weighs nearly 6 metric tons (5,959
kgs/13,138 pounds). This also marked the third launch of the year for
International Launch Services (ILS).
The Lockheed Martin-built (NYSE: LMT) Atlas V vehicle, designated
AV-004, lifted off at 4:42 p.m. EST (21:42 GMT). It placed the Inmarsat
spacecraft in a supersynchronous transfer orbit 32 minutes later.
Satellite controllers have confirmed that the spacecraft is functioning
properly.
Tonight’s vehicle used the Atlas V “431” configuration, meaning it had a
4-meter-diameter fairing, three solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and a
single-engine Centaur upper stage. Atlas V vehicles have now flown five
times, three of them with SRBs.
“The Atlas series now has achieved an unprecedented string of 76
successful launches, and we’re proud to count this mission and two
others for Inmarsat among them,” said ILS President Mark Albrecht.
“This is a milestone launch for us, also, in terms of the size of the
payload,” Albrecht said. “Inmarsat 4-F1 is one of largest commercial
communications satellites in the world, as well as the most massive
satellite launched by Atlas. Yet it falls into the middle of the Atlas V
capability range, demonstrating the flexibility of our design.”
The spacecraft is a Eurostar E3000 model built by EADS Astrium. It is
the first in a generation of satellites that will support Inmarsat’s new
Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN), delivering internet and intranet
content and solutions, video-on-demand, videoconferencing, fax, e-mail,
phone and LAN access at speeds up to 432kbit/s almost anywhere in the
world. BGAN will also be compatible with third-generation cellular
systems. The operating location for Inmarsat 4-F1 is 65 degrees East
longitude.
“We thank ILS for the safe delivery of our first I-4 satellite into
space,” said Andrew Sukawaty, chairman and CEO of Inmarsat. “The first
two I-4 satellites will bring broadband communications to 86 percent of
the world. History has been made and the world has become closer through
advanced data communications.”
Antoine Bouvier, CEO of EADS Astrium, said: “This successful launch is a
major event for EADS Astrium, as Inmarsat-4 is certainly one of the most
sophisticated communications satellites ever built. We thank for this
achievement International Launch Services, and Inmarsat for the
confidence they had in EADS Astrium on this innovative and ambitious
program.”
ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Md., and
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Moscow. ILS is
the global leader in launch services, offering the industry’s two best
launch systems: Atlas and Proton. With a remarkable launch rate of 73
missions since 2000, the Atlas and Proton launch vehicles have
consistently demonstrated the reliability and flexibility that have made
them preferred choice among satellite operators worldwide. Since the
beginning of 2003, ILS has signed more new commercial contracts than all
of its competitors combined.
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