See also: First Proton Launch of 2008



The Khrunichev State Research And Production Space Centre press release is reproduced below:

12.01.2008 Thor IIR Mission on Proton: Norwegian Satellite Arrives in Baikonur

THOR IIR (now known as THOR 5) telecommunications spacecraft – built by USA – based Orbital Science Corporation for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting of Norway - today arrived in Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, where it will be readied for its February launch atop a Proton, a Russia’s principal heavy-lift launch vehicle.
The main pre-launch operations with the spacecraft will be conducted by OSC’s engineers in Assembly and Testing Building 92A-50 of the Baikonur launch site.

The Khrunichev Space Center – built Proton Breeze M rocket that will be used to launch the Norwegian satellite onto orbit was delivered to Baikonur earlier. The Khrunichev launch team has already started the routine operations scheduled for the rocket stages and payload fairing.

THOR IIR launch will be the first Proton commercial mission of 2008. The launch services on the Proton M/ Breeze M rocket are provided by ILS - International Launch Services Inc.

ILS is a joint US –Russian venture formed in 1995. Since September 2006, ILS is a joint venture between Space Transport Inc. and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, a Moscow –located pillar in Russian space industry, with Russian Space Corporation “Energia”.

Oslo –based Telenor is among the world’s leading providers of satellite mobile and fixed –line telecommunications services worldwide. The company has ownership interests in 12 mobile operators across Europe and Asia. Telenor owns and operates two Thor satellites, at 1 degree West longitude. It also is half –owner of the Intelsat 10-02 satellite.

Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va, USA, is the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of satellites, launch vehicles and other space –related systems.

Source: Khrunichev Press Release

The Khrunichev State Research And Production Space Centre press release is reproduced below:

16.01.2008 THOR 2R (THOR 5) Mission on Proton Report: Breeze M Upper Stage Delivered to Baikonur

Khrunichev–built Breeze M upper stage which will be used for 1st ILS Proton launch of 2008 -with THOR IIR spacecraft for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting of Norway - arrived this morning, on January 16, at 9:22 Moscow Time, at its launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

The load was safely delivered aboard a Russian cargo plane “Ruslan” AN 124-100 owned by a Russian carrier Polet –the principal carrier used by Khrunichev Space Center to provide transportation for space launch purposes.


During the day the upper stage will be moved to its processing facility, Assembly and Testing Building (“MIK”) 92A-50. Khrunichev’s engineers will undertake routine operations with the upper stage in the coming days.


With the Breeze M arrival, all key components of the integrated space launcher Proton Breeze M - a core Proton rocket, its upper stage and the spacecraft - are now at the launch site.


Within the next weeks, the operations with the launcher and the spacecraft will be performed independently by different teams of the international launch team, at the same Building. Then joint operations on mating the satellite to the launcher will began.


The Orbital Sciences Corporation –built satellite, based on Orbital's STAR 2platform, is set to launch in the first 10 days of February 2008.


This is the first ever Proton mission with this type of satellite. Also, this is the first time Proton will inject a satellite directly into geosynchronous orbit.


ILS–International Launch Services is the U.S-Russian joint venture between Space Transport Inc. and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center with RSC Energia. The USA –based venture has the exclusive rights for worldwide commercial sales and mission management of satellite launches on Russia's premier vehicle, the Proton.


Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center– the largest Russia’s space industry company, the Moscow -based designer and manufacturer of Proton launch vehicle family.


Proton Breeze M is an upgraded version of the principal heavy –lift vehicle in Russia’s space programme, the Proton. With 40 years of its flight history, Proton is among the world’s most reliable launch vehicles.

Source: Khrunichev Press Release

The Khrunichev State Research And Production Space Centre press release is reproduced below:

24.01.2008 THOR IIR Launch Campaign

Fuelling activities started for Breeze M Upper Stage

An important stage of the THOR IIR launch campaign – the autonomous operations independently run by Khrunichev crew (with the Proton LV, its Breeze M upper stage, adapter payload fairing) and Orbital/ Telenor team ( with their spacecraft) - is nearing its end.

Khrunichev – led Russian space industry team has started fuelling activities for the Breeze M uppers stage at technological fuelling station at pad 31, today. The fuelling operations will last two days. Then the fully fuelled upper stage will go through final checks to be ready for transportation to the clean room ( Hall 101 of the Assembly and Testing Building 92A50), where its combined operations with the spacecraft will be performed to assembly the Space Head Unit (made off the spacecraft, adapter, upper stage, payload fairing) .

Khrunichev is ready to complete the operations being run in parallel with Proton LV in Hall 111.

The stand along operations to test and fuel THOR IIR are well under way in another clean room ( Hall 103 A) of the same Building. The spacecraft manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corp. will perform fuelling of its spacecraft in the next few days. Fuelling of the spacecraft will require one day.

Once the upper stage and the spacecraft are fuelled, the combined operations – another important milestone of the launch campaign - are expected to start in the very beginning of the next week. The operations will be conducted by the international launch team of the Proton and Breeze M upper stage manufacturer Khrunichev, Orbital, the owner of the satellite Telenor, and other partners to the ILS Proton launch.

The works scheduled for this stage include Space Head Unit (or Ascent unit) assembly and integration to the Proton rocket.

The Proton Breeze M with Telenor’s THOR IIR telecommunications satellite is set to launch on 10 February.

Source: Khrunichev Press Release

The International Launch Services press release is reproduced below:


MEDIA ADVISORY
ILS Proton to launch THOR 5 satellite

Feb. 10, 2008

Payload:
THOR 5
STAR 2 platform
Separated mass: approx. 1940 kg (4277 lbs)

Launch Vehicle:
Proton M/Breeze M
Weight at liftoff: 691,272 kg (1.5 million lbs) including payload
Height: 56.2 m (184 ft)

Launch Time:
• 17:34 Feb. 11 Baikonur
• 12:34 Feb. 11 CET
• 11:34 Feb. 11 GMT
• 06:34 Feb. 11 EST


Launch Site:
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launch Pad 39

End User:
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting, Oslo, Norway

Satellite Manufacturer:
Orbital Sciences Corp, Dulles, Va.

Launch Vehicle Manufacturer:
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Moscow

Launch Services Provider:
International Launch Services, McLean, Va.

Satellite Use:
Broadcasting and interactive services in FSS and BSS, over the Nordic region, Europe and the Middle East.

Satellite Statistics:
• 24 active Ku-band transponders: 15 for FSS and 9 for BSS
• 5 active BSS transponders available through steerable antenna
• Orbital location: 1 degree West longitude
• Anticipated service life of 15 years

Mission Profile:
The Proton launch vehicle will use a 4-burn Breeze M mission design to inject the satellite directly into geostationary orbit. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth stage, with the satellite, into a suborbital trajectory, from which the Breeze M will place itself and the spacecraft into a circular parking orbit of 173 km (107.5 miles) inclined at 51.5 degrees. From there, the unit will be propelled into geostationary orbit, and its inclination reduced, through a series of additional burns of the Breeze M.

Target Orbit at Separation:
Apogee/Perigee: 36,796 km (22,864 miles)
Inclination: 0 degrees

Spacecraft Separation:
Approximately 9 hours, 22 minutes, 50 seconds after liftoff

ILS Mission Statistics:
• 1st ILS Proton launch in 2008
• 2nd Proton mission of the year
• 1st Proton launch of STAR 2 bus
• 44th ILS mission on Proton
• 333rd Proton launch overall

Live Broadcast in North America:
Galaxy 26, transponder 9, 93 degrees West, C-band, analog NTSC, downlink 3880 MHz (vertical)
Test signals start at 5:45 a.m. EST, broadcast starts approximately 6:13 a.m.

Live Feed for Europe:
New Skies NSS-7, transponder WHL4/EUH3, Channel 1
338 degrees West, Ku-band, digital PAL
downlink 11095.6 MHz (horizontal), symbol rate 5.632, FEC: 3/4
Test signals start at 10:45 GMT, broadcast starts approximately 11:13 GMT.

More Information:
Live webcast and general mission information will be available on the ILS web site at www.ilslaunch.com. Launch status updates are available on the ILS U.S. domestic Launch Hotline at 1-800-852-4980.

###

Contacts:
Fran Slimmer, ILS, McLean, Va., USA; +1-571-633-7462; mobile: +1-646-229-4801; f.slimmer@ilslaunch.com

#08-03

Source: ILS News Release

Launch postponed

Posted by Posted by ILS Communications Team, 11:33 a.m. EST on 10 February 2008

The launch has been postponed. The new launch time is 6:34 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 11.

Source: ILS - Thor 5 Blog

The International Launch Services press release is reproduced below:

ILS Proton successfully launches THOR 5 satellite

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, Feb. 11, 2008 - A Proton launch vehicle successfully lifted the THOR 5 satellite into orbit today, marking the first mission of the year for International Launch Services (ILS), and the second Proton flight in two weeks.

The Proton Breeze M vehicle, built by ILS partner Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, lifted off from Pad 39 at the cosmodrome at 5:34 p.m. today local time (6:34 a.m. EST, 11:34 GMT). After a 9-hour-23-minute mission, the launcher released the satellite directly into geostationary orbit.

The THOR 5 satellite will operate at 1 degree West longitude, where it will deliver broadcast and interactive services across the Nordic region, Europe and the Middle East for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting of Norway. THOR 5 is a STAR 2 model spacecraft built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., which contracted for the launch with ILS.

"We thank Orbital and Telenor for putting their confidence in ILS, especially since this was the first Proton mission for both companies," said ILS President Frank McKenna. He noted that the launch campaign proceeded smoothly after the spacecraft arrived at the launch site Jan. 12. "The launch of THOR 5, the sixth successful Proton launch in three-and-a-half months, further demonstrates the pace we and our partner expect to continue throughout 2008 for both commercial and federal missions."



"The THOR 5 satellite mission is off to a great start thanks to the successful launch by the ILS Proton rocket," said Christopher Richmond, Orbital’s senior vice president and head of the company’s GEO communications satellite programs. "We are now looking forward to successfully testing and activating the THOR 5 satellite and are committed to providing Telenor with the highest level of customer support in the years to come."

"I would like to extend my thanks to ILS for performing a successful launch," said Cato Halsaa, CEO, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting. "The launch of THOR 5 represents a milestone for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting and demonstrates our commitment to the satellite industry and our firm belief that satellites will continue to play an important role as a distribution platform for TV entertainment."

International Launch Services is the U.S.-Russian joint venture between Space Transport Inc. and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center with RSC Energia. ILS has the exclusive rights for worldwide commercial sales and mission management of satellite launches on Russia’s premier vehicle, the Proton, and the future Angara vehicle. ILS is incorporated in Delaware in the United States, and is headquartered in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C.

###

Contacts:
Fran Slimmer, ILS, McLean, Va., USA; +1-571-633-7462; mobile: +1-646-229-4801; f.slimmer@ilslaunch.com

#08-04

Source: ILS News Release