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ILS off to fast start in 2006 ILS NEWS RELEASE Posted: February 7, 2006 International Launch Services (ILS) announces three awards as it kicks off its participation this week in a satellite industry conference in Washington, D.C. "Right out of the chute, we announced awards from returning customers and had a fantastically successful Atlas V launch with NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto - and there are 11 months to go in 2006," said Mark Albrecht, ILS president. A joint venture of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) of Bethesda, Md., and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, ILS markets and manages satellite launch missions on the American Atlas and Russian Proton vehicles. ILS could launch as many as nine satellites this year, Albrecht said, noting that only three weeks remain before the next ILS mission. That will be a Proton Breeze M launch for EADS Astrium with the ARABSAT 4A satellite, scheduled for Feb. 28/March 1. The first ILS mission was the New Horizons launch on Jan. 19, using the top-of-the-line Lockheed Martin Atlas V-551 configuration with 2.5 million pounds of thrust. The three Proton awards announced are the following:
International Launch Services is the global leader in the space launch industry, offering the two best systems: Atlas and Proton. With a remarkable launch tempo, the Atlas and Proton vehicles have consistently demonstrated the reliability and flexibility that have made them the preferred choice among satellite operators worldwide. ILS was formed in 1995, and is based in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion. |
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The Expedition 12 crew tosses overboard an old Russian spacesuit loaded with ham radio gear during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The eery view of the lifeless suit tumbling into the darkness of space was captured by station cameras.
The flight of shuttle Discovery in October 1998 captured the public's attention with the triumphant return to space by John Glenn. The legendary astronaut became the first American to orbit the Earth some 36 years earlier. His 9-day shuttle mission focused on science experiments about aging. This post-flight presentation of highlights from the STS-95 mission is narrated by the astronauts.
NASA's next mobile rover that will be sent to the Red Planet is Mars Science Laboratory. Roughly the size of a Mini Cooper car and designed to operate on the Martian surface for two Earth years, this large rover is scheduled for launch in 2009. Project manager Richard Cook unveils a model of the rover and talks about the mission in this video clip.
The remarkable rovers Spirit and Opportunity remain alive and well on the surface of the Red Planet, far outlasting their planned 90-day missions. On Jan. 24, the second anniversary of Opportunity's landing, project officials and scientists held this celebration event at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The New Horizons spacecraft begins a voyage across the solar system to explore Pluto and beyond with its successful launch January 19 aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.