Proton launches DirecTV satellite
Posted: Sat, Jul 7, 2007, 9:16 AM ET (1316 GMT)
An upgraded Proton rocket successfully launched a television broadcasting satellite for DirecTV early Saturday. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:16 pm EDT Friday (0116 GMT, 7:16 am local time Saturday) and placed the DirecTV 10 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit approximately nine hours later. The spacecraft, a Boeing 702 model, weighs 5,900 kilograms and carries 131 Ka-band transponders. The satellite will operate from 102.8 degrees west in GEO, where it will be used by satellite TV company DirecTV to provide high-definition television programming for customers in the US. The launch was the first for the "enhanced" version of the Proton, featuring a number of design changes to reduce the vehicle's mass and thus increase its payload capacity; DirecTV 10 is the heaviest GEO spacecraft launched by a Proton.
An upgraded Proton rocket successfully launched a television broadcasting satellite for DirecTV early Saturday. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:16 pm EDT Friday (0116 GMT, 7:16 am local time Saturday) and placed the DirecTV 10 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit approximately nine hours later. The spacecraft, a Boeing 702 model, weighs 5,900 kilograms and carries 131 Ka-band transponders. The satellite will operate from 102.8 degrees west in GEO, where it will be used by satellite TV company DirecTV to provide high-definition television programming for customers in the US. The launch was the first for the "enhanced" version of the Proton, featuring a number of design changes to reduce the vehicle's mass and thus increase its payload capacity; DirecTV 10 is the heaviest GEO spacecraft launched by a Proton.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, May 13
A new ‘Boost!’ for space transportation companies
ESA — 6:12 am ET (1012 GMT) Elon Musk Is Out to Rule Space. Can Anyone Stop Him?
Wired — 6:11 am ET (1011 GMT) AST SpaceMobile ‘Optimistic’ About New Glenn Pad Return
Aviation Week — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) AST SpaceMobile Confirms Target for 45 BlueBirds This Year, Despite Blue Origin Launch Failure
ViaSatellite — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) ULA to prep future Vulcan launch for Amazon despite rocket investigation
Orlando Sentinel — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) |
