Atlas V to Launch Wideband Gapfiller as ILS' 1st EELV Mission.Business Editors MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2003 International Launch Services International Launch Services (or ILS) was formed in 1995 as a private spaceflight partnership between the United States defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LM) (LM sold their part later) and the Russian firms Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC (ILS ILS In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Israeli Shekel. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) will launch a U.S. Air Force communications satellite on an Atlas V rocket as its first government mission under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program was a United States government, primarily a Department of Defense–sponsored effort to develop at least one family of space launch vehicles, that would meet the long term needs of the military and fulfill commercial (EELV) program. The mission is the launch of Wideband Gapfiller Satellite #2 (WGS-2), scheduled for no earlier than December 2004 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) is the East Coast space launch facility of the United States Department of Defense. Located on Cape Canaveral in the State of Florida, it depends on Patrick Air Force Base, home of the 45th Space Wing. CCAFS is adjacent to the John F. , Fla. This is the first of seven Atlas V launches This article is about the Atlas V rocket. For information on the Atlas V rocket as a whole, see Atlas V. Atlas V launch Past launches List Date: March 2007 Date Type Serial-no. awarded to ILS by the Air Force under the EELV program. The Air Force authorized ILS this month to begin work to integrate the Atlas V vehicle with the spacecraft. The Atlas V is produced by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space Systems is one of the 4 major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. From a rich history of major companies Lockheed Martin has brought them together to offer design, integration, and production of: See: New York Stock Exchange :LMT) the latest generation in a long line of reliable rockets. It was developed both to meet Air Force EELV requirements and for ILS commercial missions. Atlas V's highly successful first flight was last Aug. 21 with a commercial payload. The Atlas family of II, III and V series rockets boasts a record of 63 consecutive successful launches. "I'm pleased to entrust this important national security spacecraft to the Atlas V," said Col. Sue Mashiko, head of the EELV program office at the USAF Space & Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles. "The perfect initial flight of Atlas V last summer, coupled with the Atlas family's incredible record of 63 consecutive successful launches, give us confidence that this satellite will be launched on time." The Wideband Gapfiller Satellites are designed to augment defense communications services currently provided by the Defense Satellite Communications System Geosynchronous military communications satellites that provide high data rate communications for military forces, diplomatic corps, and the White House. The Defense Satellite Communications System provides long-haul super-high frequency 7/8 gigahertz voice and high data rate (DSCS) and the Global Broadcasting Service (GBS), as well as provide a new high-capacity two-way Ka-band service in support of our nation's deployed forces. "The Air Force was at our side during Atlas V development," said ILS President Mark Albrecht, "and was side-by-side with our commercial customer at the first launch. We look forward to launching WGS-2 as the first dedicated Air Force mission on Atlas V." The Atlas V family is the most powerful in the Atlas line, designed to lift payloads up to nearly 8700 kg to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The Atlas V incorporates state-of-the-art designs, materials and processes. To support Atlas V missions, Lockheed Martin built a state-of-the-art launch complex at Cape Canaveral. The new site introduces the "clean pad" concept to U.S. launch capabilities for the first time, and consolidates the support operations into two facilities: the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) and the Vertical Integration Facility. The clean pad concept allows the Atlas V vehicle to be assembled, tested and mated with the encapsulated spacecraft away from the pad, thus allowing more flexibility in meeting customer needs. ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. in the United States and Russian companies Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center[1] (ГКНПЦ им. М. В. Хруничева in Russian) is a Moscow-based producer of space-launch systems. and RSC Energia. ILS offers the broadest range of launch services in the world along with products with the highest reliability in the industry. ILS' Atlas rockets and their Centaur upper stages are built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. - Space & Strategic Missiles, at facilities in Denver, Colo.; Harlingen, Texas; and San Diego, Calif. For more information, visit www.ilslaunch.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion