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BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW Follow the countdown and launch of the Russian Proton rocket carrying the Canadian Anik F1R telecommunications satellite. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2005
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2005 The Breeze M upper stage and Anik F1R are supposed to enter a coast period that will last until T+plus 68 minutes, 25 seconds when the stage re-ignites for a 16.5-minute firing to reach an intermediate orbit. A third burn begins at T+plus 3 hours, 29 minutes and lasts 12 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+plus 3 hours, 41 minutes for a 4.5-minute burn. A final 7.5-minute burn will occur at T+plus 8 hours, 52 minutes. The Anik F1R spacecraft will be deployed into its targeted geosynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of about 22,300 miles, a low point of approximately 2,000 miles, and an inclination of around 10 degrees. Separation of the satellite from the upper stage to complete the launch is expected at T+plus 9 hours, 11 minutes. We'll update this page when the next information is released from International Launch Services.
2208 GMT (6:08 p.m. EDT)
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2005 Named Anik F1R, the satellite will be launched aboard a 1.5 million pound Russian Proton rocket at 2153 GMT (5:53 p.m. EDT), or in the pre-dawn hours at launch pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Proton-M booster features three core stages that will deliver an upper stage and the Anik F1R payload into an initial suborbital trajectory. Beginning at liftoff, the Proton first stage's six RD-275 powerplants will push the rocket away from Earth with over two million pounds of thrust in the first two minutes of flight. After first stage separation, four engines aboard the second stage will ignite and fire for three-and-a-half minutes before shutting down and jettisoning. The Proton's third stage will then come to life for its four-minute job, during which the protective payload fairing shielding the precious cargo will be let go after reaching the upper atmosphere. The first ten minutes of the mission will pave the way for exhaustive work of the Breeze-M upper stage, which conducts five burns to gradually nudge Anik F1R toward its final home in space. The stage will first place the integrated vehicle in a parking orbit a little over 100 miles high, before the remaining four steps raise altitude and reduce orbital inclination. Spacecraft separation is due at 9 hours, 11 minutes after liftoff in a geostationary transfer orbit with a high point of about 22,300 miles, a low point of approximately 2,000 miles, and an inclination of around 10 degrees. Anik F1R's on-board propulsion system will complete the task of circularizing the orbit to an altitude of 22,300 miles along the Equator, and controllers will later command the craft to fly into an orbital slot at 107.3 degrees West longitude over the eastern Pacific Ocean. During the commissioning phase, the spacecraft will unfurl its twin massive power-producing solar panels that stretch over 115 feet tip-to-tip. From there, the satellite will test its 32 Ku-band transponders and 24 C-band channels before pressing the communications suite into service within the next few months to serve customers in Canada and the United States. Amidst the television broadcasting component of Anik F1R's duties are transmission of Internet and multimedia products. Also included aboard the 9,900-pound bird is a dual-band navigation payload that will be used by air traffic controllers to help enhance their current ability to track aircraft in congested skies across the continent. Telesat Canada will take over control of the newly launched satellite in the coming weeks, and Anik F1R will be in position to complement the Anik F1 craft launched in 2000. The Boeing-built older member of the fleet was struck by degradation of the satellite's solar arrays -- a design flaw -- which reduces its intended 15-year lifetime. Anik F1R was built by the European EADS Astrium firm and is based on that company's E3000 design of the Eurostar family of satellites. "Telesat is a leading operator recognized worldwide for its technical expertise, and we thank them for the confidence it has placed in us and the Eurostar spacecraft for its most recent procurements," said Antoine Bouvier, EADS Astrium CEO. "We are delighted with the excellent teamwork developed with the Telesat residents monitoring the progress of the project at EADS Astrium facilities. Today's launch will mark the third use of the Proton by Telesat Canada in the history of International Launch Services, the joint U.S.-Russian group that commercially markets Atlas and Proton rockets.
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