Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has shipped a communications satellite built for DISH Network L.L.C., to the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, where it will be launched aboard an ILS Proton Breeze M vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS). "This is the eighth high-power satellite that SS/L has completed and delivered since the beginning of last year," said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral.

EchoStar XIV is a direct broadcast satellite designed to provide expanded HD services and flexibility for DISH Network's more than 14 million DTH television subscribers. The satellite is based on SS/L's 1300 platform, a decades-proven modular bus with the world's highest power capability and the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances. EchoStar Satellite Services, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, is providing space program management services to DISH Network for the EchoStar XIV satellite. These services include managing satellite construction, launch vehicle procurement and integration, in-orbit testing, and delivery. After launch of the satellite, EchoStar will deliver spacecraft telemetry, tracking, and control services through its multiple Spacecraft Operation Centers.