[SatNews] International Launch Services (ILS) and SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) have announced the extension to December 31, 2014, of the SES Multi Launch Agreement (MLA) and the addition of a sixth firm ILS Proton mission through 2014.

The MLA was signed in June 2007 between ILS and SES Satellite Leasing Limited, SES’s satellite procurement and leasing company in the Isle of Man. The first SES launch under the MLA was the successful ILS Proton launch of SES-1 on April 24, 2010. In addition, two of the four SES missions scheduled in 2011 and 2012 for the launches of the SES-3, SES-4, QuetzSat-1 and SES-5/ASTRA 4B satellites will be part of the MLA. The remaining three MLA missions will be assigned as needed and in principle cover the 2012 — 2014 time frame. In addition, Proton will provide back-up launch capability for SES missions in 2011 as part of the increased flexibility and improved schedule assurances under the Multi Launch Agreement. The Proton vehicle, built by ILS majority owner Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, is Russia’s premier heavy-lift launcher and has a heritage of 359 flights since the 1960’s. In the past 26 months, Proton has launched 25 successful consecutive missions.