ILS International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) has now secured six firm launch orders and three mission assignments during the first half of 2009.

“The six new orders we have received over the past six months are from repeat as well as new customers. Our longtime customers have come to expect the real value that ILS delivers; our new customers have put their trust and confidence in ILS Proton to support and protect their business plan.” said ILS President Frank McKenna. “ILS, with the solid backing of Khrunichev, is uniquely positioned, to provide unmatched schedule assurance in an increasingly competitive global environment. With the consolidation of key Proton suppliers under Khrunichev, hardware production is at its highest level. This translates to schedule certainty. Launching a satellite within a customer’s required timeframe is invaluable—the future of their business often depends on that assurance,” McKenna said.

ILS has exclusive rights to market the Proton launch services to global commercial satellite operators. Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, one of the cornerstones of the Russian space industry, manufactures the Proton and is the majority owner of ILS. The new business for ILS includes the following, resulting in a total ILS backlog of 24 firm missions worth over 2 billion dollars:

• SkyTerra 2, SkyTerra exercised the option to launch a second mission with ILS Proton to protect and preserve the future of their business with an on-track launch in 2010; Proton will launch the entire next generation SkyTerra system
• ViaSat-1, ILS Proton provided the best value solution for ViaSat. ViaSat-1 was previously manifested with ArianeSpace and will launch with ILS Proton in 2011
• Three firm missions for Intelsat, the largest satellite operator in the world, including Intelsat 16
• AsiaSat-5, allowing AsiaSat to meet critical schedule requirements to replace AsiaSat 2 in August of this year
• OS-1, the first satellite in the SES Orbital block buy. ILS Proton was selected to fulfill SES’s in service schedule requirements. The OS-1 satellite is included with two other assignments for ILS this year from the Multi Launch agreement

A significant milestone was marked by ILS with the first mission of 2009 — the 50th ILS Proton launch with the W2A satellite for longtime customer Eutelsat. Prior to that mission, Proton lofted the Federal Dual Express satellites directly into geostationary orbit, demonstrating the enhanced performance of Proton, lifting a total mass of over 6 metric tons. Last month, the launch of Indostar II/Protostar II, for new customer Protostar of Bermuda, supported the next generation of television services across Asia. The schedule for the remainder of the year includes 4 to 5 additional commercial missions and two Federal missions for a combined total of up to 11 Proton launches in 2009.

ILS also announces the opening of the ILS Europe office, located in Toulouse, France. The remainder of the year for ILS and Khrunichev includes a robust manifest of commercial launches and Federal missions, resulting in about a launch a month for 2009.