BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, July 11, 2010
International Launch Services (ILS), a leading launch services provider for the global commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the EchoStar XV satellite into orbit on an ILS Proton for DISH Network.
The ILS Proton launched from Pad 39 at the Cosmodrome. After a 9 hour 13 minute mission, the Breeze M successfully released the EchoStar XV satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. This is a high energy orbit that will enable the satellite to have approximately 20 years of service life. The EchoStar XV launch was the 24th successful consecutive Proton launch in 24 months.
The satellite was built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L).
This was the 358th launch for Proton since its inaugural flight in 1965, and the 61st ILS Proton launch overall. The Proton Breeze M launch vehicle was developed and built by Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, one of the pillars of the Russian space industry and the majority shareholder in ILS.
Source: ILS