JSAT Selects ILS Proton to Launch JCSAT-11 Satellite

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 6, 2006/Satnews Daily/ — JSAT Corporation of Japan has contracted with International Launch Services (ILS) for launch of its JCSAT-11 satellite on a Proton Breeze M vehicle in 2007.

Financial terms of the deal, announced at Satellite 2006 conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, were not disclosed.

This will be JSAT's fourth mission with ILS, and its first on a Proton, which launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Previous flights, all successful, were on ILS Atlas vehicles from Cape Canaveral, Fla. ILS, a Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) joint venture, markets launch services on the Proton, built by Khrunichev of Russia, and the Lockheed Martin-built Atlas, to satellite operators worldwide.

JCSAT-11 is an A2100 model satellite built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems. ILS Proton vehicles have launched eight of this model already.

JSAT Corporation is a leading satellite operator in the Asia-Pacific region. The company owns and operates nine satellites in eight orbital slots, covering North America, Hawaii, Asia and Oceania. JSAT provides a range of services, including digital CS broadcasting service, SKY PerfecTV! satellite TV broadcasting, video and data broadcasting services for corporate and inter-company networks and international telecommunications services.

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