BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Follow the preparations and launch of the Russian Proton rocket carrying the AMC 9 telecommunications satellite. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

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SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 2003

In a commercial mission Friday night that was anything but a sprint, the milestone 300th flight of the Russian Proton heavy-lifting rocket booster successfully launched a telecommunications satellite to cover North America. Read our full story.

SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 2003

The AMC 9 spacecraft was successfully launched into the targeted orbit this morning, International Launch Services says. Controllers have made contact with the satellite, confirming it is operating following the launch. We'll post a complete story shortly.

FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2003
2235 GMT (6:35 p.m. EDT)

The Breeze M upper stage and AMC 9 are now in a coast period that will last until T+69 minutes, 14 seconds. That is when the stage re-ignites for a 15-minute firing. A third burn will begin at T+plus 3 hours, 30 minutes and last for 10 minutes. Following completion of its third burn of the mission, the Breeze M will jettison its emptied Additional Propellant Tank. The stage then restarts at T+3 hour, 42 minutes for a five-minute burn. A final six-minute burn will occur at T+plus 8 hours, 28 minutes. Spacecraft separation to complete the launch is targeted to occur at T+plus 8 hours, 54 minutes, 45 seconds.

We'll update this page when the next information is released from International Launch Services, which is expected around 0710 GMT (3:10 a.m. EDT) when the AMC 9 spacecraft is deployed into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

2234 GMT (6:34 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 19 minutes, 40 seconds. International Launch Services says that the first burn of Breeze M has been completed.

2234 GMT (6:34 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 19 minutes. The Breeze M is nearing completion of its first firing.

2231 GMT (6:31 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 16 minutes, 15 seconds. The first burn of the Breeze M continues without any problems reported.

2227 GMT (6:27 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 12 minutes. The Breeze M upper stage has been ignited to achieve a low-altitude parking orbit around Earth. This burn should last until about T+plus 19 minutes, 29 seconds.

2225 GMT (6:25 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 10 minutes, 20 seconds. The third stage has been jettisoned.

2224 GMT (6:24 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 9 minutes. The third stage should complete its burn in less than a minute, followed by separation of the spent motor. The Breeze M and attached AMC 9 spacecraft will then be on a suborbital trajectory in preparation for the first of five planned firings by the upper stage to reach geosynchronous transfer orbit over the next several hours.

2221 GMT (6:21 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 6 minutes, 15 seconds. The payload fairing enclosing the AMC 9 spacecraft atop the rocket has separated. The third stage continues to fire.

2221 GMT (6:21 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 6 minutes, 5 seconds. Second stage separation has occurred and ignition of the Proton third stage has been confirmed.

2220 GMT (6:20 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 5 minutes, 15 seconds. Coming up on burn out and separation of the second stage. Altitude 1167 km, downrange distance from the launch pad 475 km.

2219 GMT (6:19 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 4 minutes, 15 seconds. Altitude 100 km, downrange distance from the launch pad 295 km.

2218 GMT (6:18 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 3 minutes. The Proton continues streaking to space on the power of the second stage. Vehicle performance is reported normal.

2217 GMT (6:17 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 2 minutes, 45 seconds. The first stage engines have shut down and the spent stage has separated. The four second stage engines are up and burning as planned.

2216 GMT (6:16 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 90 seconds. Just over a half-minute remaining in the first stage burn. No problems have been reported so far in the flight.

2216 GMT (6:16 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 60 seconds. The vehicle is now approaching the period of maximum dynamic pressure during its climb through the atmosphere.

2215 GMT (6:15 p.m. EDT)

T+plus 30 seconds. The Proton rocket is performing its roll maneuver to achieve the proper launch heading for flight downrange. All six first stage liquid-fueled engines are up and burning.

2215 GMT (6:15 p.m. EDT)

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the 300th Russian Proton rocket and the AMC 9 telecommunications spacecraft to serve North America!

2210 GMT (6:10 p.m. EDT)

Now inside the final five minutes of the countdown. No problems are being reported by International Launch Services.

2207 GMT (6:07 p.m. EDT)

Weather conditions are within limits for today's Proton launch. The latest report at Baikonur indicates a temperature of 10 degrees C and a southwest wind at 3 to 5 meters per second.

2205 GMT (6:05 p.m. EDT)

T-minus 10 minutes and counting. The Proton rocket weighs about 1.5 million pounds as it sits on the launch pad. The AMC 9 spacecraft accounts for 9,039 pounds of the weight.

At launch the Proton's six first stage engines will fire together to propel the massive, 200-foot tall rocket into the predawn sky at Baikonur. It is currently 4:05 a.m. local time at the launch site.

2200 GMT (6:00 p.m. EDT)

Liftoff of the Proton rocket carrying the AMC 9 communications satellite remains on schedule for 2215 GMT (6:15 p.m. EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The three-stage Proton core vehicle and Breeze M upper stage are fully fueled, a process that began about six hours before launch time.

In the past hour, the launch pad's mobile service tower was rolled away from the rocket.

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2003

Hoping the third time is the charm, a Russian Proton rocket is standing on its Baikonur Cosmodrome pad for a commercial satellite launch that has been delayed since April by technical problems.

Liftoff is scheduled for 2215 GMT (6:15 p.m. EDT) on Friday.

Both previous launch attempts were thwarted by hardware glitches that forced the rocket to be rolled off the launch pad and returned to its preparation facilities for repairs. The first rollback allowed workers to replace a faulty data collection unit on the vehicle; the second was needed to replace a gyro unit.

The rocket will deliver the AMC 9 telecommunications satellite into orbit to relay television, data and other services across North America.

Watch this page for updates during the final minutes of the countdown and the launch sequence.

SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2003
1810 GMT (2:10 p.m. EDT)

Monday's planned launch of the Russian Proton rocket carrying the AMC 9 telecommunications satellite has been postponed, officials announced today.

"During routine pre-launch verification activities at the launch pad a launch vehicle anomaly on one of the gyro units was identified that requires replacement of the unit," Proton marketer International Launch Services said in a statement.

"Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and International Launch Services will announce a new launch date as soon as the unit is replaced."

The AMC 9 satellite is being launched for builder Alcatel Space and operator SES AMERICOM.

This launch is already running three weeks late after workers had to replace a faulty telemetry collection unit on the Breeze M upper stage.

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2003

Delayed three weeks to replace a faulty rocket component, a Russian Proton booster fitted with a Breeze M upper stage is set to launch a satellite on Monday that is destined to beam communications transmissions to users throughout North America.

Liftoff of the Proton with AMC 9 is scheduled for 2215 GMT (6:15 p.m. EDT) from launch pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the first International Launch Services Proton mission of the year. Overall it is the second Proton of 2003, and the 300th since launches began almost 40 years ago for the workhorse rocket.

The Proton was originally rolled to the launch pad late last month for an April 29 liftoff, but testing soon after revealed an issue with a data collection unit on the Breeze M upper stage. Officials ordered the rocket be returned to its assembly facilities so the hardware could be replaced. The swap out operation is impossible while on the pad because the stages have to be detached, ILS said.

The unit is only required during pre-launch activities, and should it have failed during flight it would have not impacted chances for mission success, according to ILS officials.

Before that, the mission was delayed from earlier in the year in the wake of the Proton rocket failure last November, which left the Astra 1K satellite stranded in a useless low orbit. The cause was traced to the Block DM upper stage.

This launch was originally to use the Block DM. But after postponing the AMC 9 launch until the Block DM failure investigation was completed, the customers chose instead to use the flight-proven Breeze M option for this flight.

Perched inside the rocket's payload fairing is AMC 9 -- a satellite poised to join SES Americom's fleet of spacecraft serving the communications needs of the Americas.

Monday's launch will require five burns of the Breeze M upper stage to reach the targeted transfer orbit for release of AMC 9. The first will inject the payload into an intermediate parking orbit once the three Proton core stages complete their job. The next four will methodically increase orbital altitude and reduce inclination before spacecraft separation.

Once deployed from the Breeze M stage into a highly elliptical orbit almost nine hours into flight, AMC 9 is expected to use its on-board propulsion system to guide itself into a circular orbit 22,300 miles high along the Equator at 85 degrees West longitude, where it will match Earth's rotation and appear to hover above the Pacific Ocean.

From that vantage point, AMC 9's 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders will gaze down upon primarily North American markets. The craft will look to expand SES Americom's digital television broadcasting, data transmission, and telecommunications services.

Built by Alcatel Space, AMC 9 weighs about 9,000 pounds at liftoff and is based on their Spacebus 3000 platform. It is expected to operate for more than 15 years in orbit for SES Americom.

AMC 9 marks the 27th Proton flight under the auspices of International Launch Services, the joint venture formed in 1995 between Lockheed Martin, Khrunichev and Energia to market Atlas and Proton rockets worldwide. It will also be the second ILS mission in one week, following in the footsteps of the Atlas 5 rocket that launched May 13 from Cape Canaveral.

Stay with Spaceflight Now for live updates during the countdown and launch Monday evening.