Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan – International Launch Services (ILS), a leading mission and launch services provider for the global commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the DIRECTV 12 satellite into orbit today for DIRECTV of El Segundo, California, on an ILS Proton. This was the seventh and final commercial launch of 2009 for ILS and the 56th ILS Proton launch overall. ILS Proton launched the DIRECTV 10 satellite just two years ago, demonstrating the enhanced Proton capability which became the standard configuration for future missions. The ILS Proton Breeze M launched from Pad 39 at the cosmodrome at 6:22 a.m. today local time (7:22 p.m. EST, 00:22 GMT). After a 9 hour 10 minute mission, the Breeze M successfully released the DIRECTV 12 satellite, weighing over 5.9 metric tons, into geostationary transfer orbit. This was the 351st launch for the Proton, following the landmark 350th Proton launched just two weeks earlier on 14 December. The Proton Breeze M vehicle is developed and built by Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, one of the pillars of the Russian space industry. The DIRECTV 12 satellite was built on the Boeing 702 platform by Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems and will serve to expand DIRECTV’s HD capacity by 50 percent with over 200 national channels and 1,500 local HD and digital channels and more advanced services for its 18 million customers nationwide. The satellite will receive and transmit programming throughout the United States with two Ka-band reflectors, each measuring 2.8 meters in diameter and nine other Ka-band reflectors. “DIRECTV placed their trust and confidence in ILS two years ago with a very significant launch with the DIRECTV 10 satellite. At that time, it was the largest satellite launched by Proton, demonstrating the increased capabilities of the vehicle. Now, with DIRECTV 12, DIRECTV once again entrusted their business to us with the continuation of this successful partnership. We are very proud to play a significant role in the expansion of digital television services in the United States with DIRECTV,” said ILS President Frank McKenna. “At DIRECTV, we are proud to say that we have had many successful firsts, including the introduction of HD. We relied on ILS Proton in 2007 to launch DIRECTV 10 and knew that the same professionalism and flawless technical performance would be applied to the launch of DIRECTV 12. We thank the entire mission team from ILS, DIRECTV and Boeing, for their dedication and commitment to this launch,” said Jim Butterworth, DIRECTV Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations. ILS has exclusive rights to market the Proton, Russia’s premier heavy-lift vehicle, to commercial satellite operators worldwide. ILS is a U.S. company located in Reston, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The majority owner is Khrunichev Space Center, one of the cornerstones of the Russian space industry and manufacturer of the Proton system. Since its maiden flight in 1965, Proton has launched over 350 times. Payload:
DIRECTV 12 communications satellite Platform:
702 Separated Spacecraft Mass:
Approx. 5,900 kg Launch Vehicle:
Proton M/Breeze M
705,000 kg (1,554,000 lbs), including payload
58.2 m (191 ft) Launch Date:
December 29, 2009 Launch Time:
06:22 Baikonur
00:22 GMT
19:22 EST, 28 Dec.
16:22 PST, 28 Dec. Launch Site:
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launch Pad 39 Launch Customer:
DIRECTV, El Segundo, California Satellite Manufacturer:
Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems, El Segundo, California Launch Vehicle Manufacturer:
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Moscow Launch Services Provider:
International Launch Services, Reston, Va.
Satellite Use:
The DIRECTV 12 next-generation satellite will play an important role in extending DIRECTV’s content leadership position in the pay TV industry. When it becomes operational in the first half of next year, it will expand DIRECTV’s HD capacity by 50 percent to more than 200 national channels. The powerful 131-transponder payload integrates 32 active and 12 spare TWTAs (Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers) at Ka-band for national service and 55 active and 15 spare TWTAs for spot beams. The payload is powered by a gallium arsenide solar array that spans more than 48 meters. DIRECTV 12 will receive and transmit programming throughout the United States with two large Ka-band reflectors, each measuring 2.8 meters in diameter and nine other Ka-band reflectors.
Satellite Statistics:
— 70 Ka-Band transponders
__Orbital location: 102.8 West longitudes
__Anticipated service life: 15 years Mission Profile:
The Proton M launch vehicle, utilizing a 5-burn Breeze M mission design, will lift off from Pad 39 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, with the DIRECTV 12 satellite on board. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent profile to place the Ascent Unit (payload fairing, Breeze M upper stage and the DIRECTV12 satellite) into a sub-orbital trajectory. From this point in the mission, the Breeze M will perform planned mission maneuvers to advance the Orbital Unit first to a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and finally to a geo-transfer orbit. Separation of the DIRECTV 12 satellite is scheduled to occur approximately 9 hours, 10 minutes after liftoff. Target Orbit at Separation:
Apogee: 35,786 km (22,236 miles)
Perigee: 5,120 km (3,181 miles)
Inclination: 20.7 degrees Spacecraft Separation:
Approximately 9 hours, 10 minutes after liftoff ILS Mission Statistics:
__7th ILS Proton Launch of 2009
__56th Proton Launch for ILS
__4th DIRECTV Satellite Launched with ILS Proton
__13th Boeing Satellite Launched on a Proton |