Press Release

ILS Successfully Launches AMC-11 Satellite

By SpaceRef Editor
May 19, 2004
Filed under , ,

May 19, 2004–International
Launch Services (ILS) marked another successful mission tonight, after
its Atlas IIAS rocket placed the AMC-11 satellite into orbit for SES
AMERICOM.

Both the rocket and the satellite were built by Lockheed Martin
Corp. , which is also a partner in the ILS joint venture.
This was the fifth launch for ILS in 2004, four of which have been on
Atlas rockets. This also was the 72nd consecutive successful launch
for the Atlas vehicle family.

The Atlas IIAS rocket lifted of from Cape Canaveral’s Launch
Complex 36B at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT). The satellite, an A2100
model, was injected into a transfer orbit 28 minutes later. The AMC-11
spacecraft is a twin to AMC-10, launched in February, and together
they form SES AMERICOM’s premier cable neighborhood and the platform
for its HD-PRIME service.

“We’re proud to deliver another satellite on target for SES
AMERICOM,” said ILS President Mark Albrecht. “We look forward to the
same success with our two Proton launches this summer with WORLDSAT 2
and AMC-15, and the AMC-16 mission scheduled for an Atlas V at the end
of this year. You could say SES AMERICOM is an ILS Frequent Flyer.”

Albrecht noted the long-standing relationship shared by ILS, SES
AMERICOM and its parent company, SES GLOBAL. To date ILS has launched
16 satellites for companies affiliated with SES GLOBAL, including
seven for the SES AMERICOM fleet. Last month, the companies announced
that three additional satellites for SES AMERICOM and SES ASTRA will
be launched on ILS vehicles.

Dean Olmstead, president and CEO of SES AMERICOM, said: “We have
great confidence in ILS, as evidenced by our recent experience with
the Atlas IIAS and Proton launch vehicles. We are optimistic that the
two Proton launches scheduled for August and October, as well as our
first Atlas V launch in December, will be just as flawless as
tonight’s AMC-11 Atlas IIAS launch.”

ILS has established itself as the indisputable leader of launch
services worldwide and offers the industry’s two best launch systems:
Atlas and Proton. With a remarkable launch rate of 63 missions during
the past three years, the Atlas and Proton launch vehicles have
consistently demonstrated the reliability and flexibility that have
made them the vehicles of choice. Further demonstrating ILS as the
industry leader, ILS has signed more new contracts than its
competitors combined over the same three-year period. By any measure,
ILS is truly the global leader.

ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Russian rocket
builder Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. ILS
markets and manages the missions on the Atlas rocket in the United
States and on the Proton rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome,
Kazakhstan. ILS was formed in 1995, and is based in McLean, Va., a
suburb of Washington, D.C.

SpaceRef staff editor.