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Eutelsat Taps ILS Proton for Hot Bird Launch Beginning 2006 |
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MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 11/Satnews Daily/ — Eutelsat S.A. has signed a contract for the launch of a future Eutelsat satellite mission with International Launch Services (ILS).
ILS said the launch is scheduled for the first quarter of 2006 and the mission will use the powerful Proton/Breeze M launch vehicle configuration. The Proton is built by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Russia, which is partnered with Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) of the United States in the ILS joint venture.
According to ILS, the contract was negotiated and signed in the framework of Eutelsat's strategy of contracting with different suppliers of satellites and launch services.
This will be the eighth Eutelsat launch on an ILS vehicle, and the company's second on an ILS Proton. Eutelsat, one of Europe’s leading satellite operators, has launched six times successfully on ILS' Lockheed Martin-built Atlas rocket. Three of those missions were the inaugural flights of Atlas variants -- Atlas II, Atlas III and Atlas V.
Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat's CEO, said it is important for Eutelsat’s business plan to bring new Hot Bird capacity into service in early 2006 in order to enhance security of the company’s satellite system and to replace Hot Bird 1.
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